Insomniac's Dream
by Mystical Knight Dragon
Summary: Naruto is just an ordinary boy leading an ordinary life...until supermodel and movie star Uchiha Sasuke moves in next door! Warnings: YAOI, SasuNaru
1. New Neighbors

**Insomniac's Dream**

I wrote this a long time ago, actually, under a different penname, and I just re-found it and was like, "Wow…this is pretty good!" At first, there was zero plot, but now I actually have a direction! (More than I can usually say, haha.)

Pairings: So far, there's Naruto/Sasuke, Itachi/Kisame, Haku/Zabuza, Kiba/Hinata, Neji/Shikamaru, and possibly some others, but the latter three really aren't all that important to the story line.

Warnings: Sasuke starts out a little out of character, but it won't last too long. And sex will ensue in later chapters.

_Chapter One: New Neighbors_

"KUSO!!"

The blue-eyed blonde slammed his fist onto the desk.

"Uzumaki-san!" Iruka-sensei shouted. "Calm yourself down!"

Naruto whined before falling back into his seat. "It's just not fair, Iruka-sensei! Why do we have to have homework during summer vacation?!"

Iruka-sensei chuckled. "Next year, you guys will be going into your senior year! It's a big step! You need to keep your minds active, and if that means giving you homework, I will give you homework!!"

The class groaned.

Kiba raised his hand. "But—sensei! You'll have no way of grading our homework next year, will you?"

Iruka-sensei grinned evilly. "If that's what you want to think, go ahead. Now, your homework for summer vacation will be—!"

Before Iruka-sensei could finish his sentence, the bell rang, signaling for the end of the school year. Papers flew everywhere, and a deafening roar welled up inside each and every student. Even star student Haruno Sakura looked excited for school to be out.

"Saaaakura-chan!" Naruto yelled, waving to her. "Ne, ne! Do you want to go to the movies with me?"

Sakura blushed. "As if, Naruto-kun! I'm getting my nails done today! But…you can come with me…if you really want to."

Naruto laughed. "Ha, ha, sure, Sakura-chan! Are you going right now? Man, I've always wanted to get a manicure!"

Kiba snorted. "Baka! You're ditching me to get your nails done?

Naruto looked sheepish and rubbed the back of his head. "Gomen, Kiba-kun. I forgot that we're going to the movies… Who else is going with us, anyway?"

Naruto followed Kiba out to the student parking lot. So they didn't have to ride the bus, they bummed a ride off of Kiba's sister, Hana. Today, Hana was even willing to bring them to the movie theater before she went off to work.

"Thanks a ton for driving us, Hana-nee-chan!" Naruto said as he climbed into the car.

"Anything for you, Naruto-kun!" she answered before cranking up the radio. "Ah! I love this song! Hope you guys don't mind my Imogen Heap fetish." She winked at Naruto in the rearview mirror.

Kiba snorted. "Whatever, nee-chan."

"Who else is going to the theaters?" Naruto prompted.

"Oh yeah… Let's see… There's Hinata, Lee, Shikamaru, Chouji… Umm, since Hinata's coming, Neji's coming. Did you ask Gaara?"

Naruto nodded. "He said he'd try to make it, but he didn't know if he could get a ride from Temari or not."

"Why doesn't Kankuro drive him?"

"Umm, have you seen Kankuro's driving record? Twenty accidents in the past year!!"

Hana laughed and said, "It can't be _that _bad!"

Naruto rolled his eyes. "Okay, so, maybe I was stretching it a bit…but it's pretty close! Anyway, his dad took away his car after he backed into a pole…or something like that. I don't know, Temari was laughing too hard for me to understand her properly."

"Ah, we're here…"

"Thanks for the ride, Hana-chan!!"

"Arigato, nee-chan!"

Hana shook her head slowly before driving off.

"Gaara!!" Naruto shouted. "You made it!!"

"Of course I did," said Gaara, purposely looking in the other direction.

"Ano," Hinata began timidly. "What are we going to see?"

"Hmm…" Naruto looked at the movie posters. "All of the really good movies are rated R… Eto…" He turned toward the group. "Should we see a comedy or a drama?"

Neji shook his head. "Naruto, we're already way ahead of you." He pointed to a poster with the title _Insomniac's Dream_. It had a picture of a figure concealed by shadows, but you could see his glowing red eyes clearly.

Gaara snorted. "Should I feel offended?"

Naruto slung his arm casually around Gaara's shoulder. "No, you shouldn't feel offended at all…Gaara-chan! Oh, and thanks for buying my ticket!!" Naruto ran off before Gaara could protest.

Gaara sighed, resigning himself to his fate. "Two please."

Haku smiled brightly when the group came up to him with their tickets.

"Haku-kun!" Naruto shouted. "Ano-sa, ano-sa! Haku, I know the high school gets out a couple minutes earlier than the middle school, but…how did you get here so fast, datte bayo?!"

Haku's smile didn't waver. He held up one finger dramatically and said, "It's…a secret."

"It's called 'work exit,' baka," said Shikamaru tersely.

"Oh. … … … …What's that?"

Shikamaru sighed. "Didn't you sign up to take that next year?"

Naruto thought for a moment. "Oh yeah…"

"The movie's on your left," said Haku, still smiling. "Please enjoy…"

"Oh boy!" shouted Naruto. "Popcorn! Soda! Candy! Bubble gum! More popcorn! …Do you guys want anything?"

Two and a half hours later, the movie was over. It was a really well thought out production with a deep plot…or it would have been had Naruto actually been paying attention. He couldn't remember any dialogue, any of the story line. His eyes had been glued from start to finish on the main character of the movie…a pale, lithe boy around his age with dark black hair and obsidian eyes…

Naruto entered his apartment complex still in a daze. Tsunade, the landlady, glanced up from her desk as he walked past. "What's the matter with him?" she thought before calling his name aloud.

"Hmm?" Naruto shook himself out of his stupor when he heard his name being called. "What is it, Tsunade-obaa-chan?"

Tsunade tensed at the nickname but decided to let it slide for the day. "Listen, Naruto, I just wanted to tell you—"

"EHH?? I thought rent was due _next _week!! What day is it? Oh, I'm so sorry! I'll get it to you by the end of the week!! I'm really, really—"

"NARUTO!" She waited a few more seconds for him to calm down. "I'm not talking to you about the rent. Listen, I just wanted to tell you that a new family is moving in next door to you. I just wanted to tell you about it, seeing as how there are only two rooms per floor…so maybe you'll keep the noise down for once. Please."

Naruto nodded slowly before the situation fully dawned on him. "NEW NEIGHBORS?! Ohhh, it's like a dream come true!!"

"No it's not," Tsunade grumbled. "What with your exuberant personality, you get a new neighbor at least once a year…"

"What was that, Tsunade-obaa-chan?"

Tsunade felt her fist tighten. "Uzumaki Naruto!" she shouted suddenly. "I charge you with the mission of helping your neighbors unpack!"

"…Ooookaaaay, Tsunade-obaa-chan… Yeesh, you don't have to yell so loudly and let the whole world know you're old and senile…"

Tsunade felt the vein in her temple throb. She picked up a ream of paper and threw it at him, barely missing his head.

"Tsunade-sama!" Shizune yelped, apparently coming into the room at the wrong time and almost getting her head taken off by a stapler. "…Have you taken your anger pills today?"

"Yes," seethed Tsunade, "but they make me angrier…"

Naruto paled and hurried from the room. "Damn angry old hag…" He ducked, just in case she heard him. Nothing came hurtling after him, so he dashed up to his room, just to be safe.

Naruto paused at the top of the stairwell and stared. There, merely five feet away, was someone who looked very, very familiar…and anyone that good looking would be _impossible _to forget!

He looked up and stared coldly, right back at Naruto, and he remembered.

"AH!" shouted Naruto. "I just saw you!"

The boy was confused. "What?"

"I—I just saw your movie! You're Uchiha Sasuke!"

The boy snorted and went back to pushing the heavy box into his apartment room. "Yeah, so? What's it to you?"

Naruto ran over to help the boy with the box. "Nothing, I guess. I just knew that I had seen you before, and it was going to bug me until I figured it out." He stopped pushing the box, stood up, and held out his hand. "I'm Uzumaki Naruto, by the way. I'm your new neighbor!"

"Uzumaki Naruto?" asked a voice from right behind the two. Naruto jumped, and a taller version of Sasuke held out a hand in Sasuke's stead. "I'm Uchiha Itachi," the taller man said. "It's a pleasure to meet you…Naruto-kun."

Naruto grinned and shook Itachi's hand. "Listen," Naruto began, "I know it must be hectic moving in and all, so I would like to treat you to dinner—"

Itachi held up his hand, and Naruto stopped, confused. "Yes, thank you, Naruto-kun. Sasuke and I greatly appreciate it." With that, Itachi disappeared down the stairs, presumably to get more boxes.

"Wow," said Naruto softly. "Is he always that—?"

"Oppressive?" Sasuke finished.

"Uhh… Not the word I would have chosen…"

"Well, what word _would _you have chosen?"

Naruto felt like Sasuke was provoking him, but he chose to ignore it. "I was going to say 'scary as hell.'"

Sasuke snorted. "You get used to it. Now, help me move this, dobe, before he comes back."

Naruto shrugged, and, together, the two were able to manage to get the heavy box over the lip of the doorway. Itachi came back just as they had finally dragged it over the corner of the living room.

"What's taking so long?" Itachi asked, bemused. "Perhaps my little brother isn't strong enough to carry a little box?"

Sasuke glared. "You know full well that _your _exercise equipment is in this box!" he snarled.

Itachi smirked. "Why don't you and your little friend stay up here and unpack for a bit. Just…don't touch my things." He smiled mysteriously before practically floating out of the room. Naruto noticed that because Itachi wore a robe that stopped a mere millimeter above the ground, thus making it impossible to see his feet, he very well _could _be floating…

Sasuke glared at the retreating form of his brother, and Naruto felt a chill run down his spine. Suddenly, Sasuke grabbed Naruto by the hand and dragged him toward one of the back rooms. "Come on, you heard him. Help me unpack…dobe."

Naruto wrenched his hand from Sasuke's. "Look, I'm not going to keep helping you if you keep calling me nasty names!"

"Whatever…usurukontachi."

"All right, fine. Whatever. I'm out of he—aahh!!"

Naruto had turned around quickly to illustrate his point…but it had been a bit _too _quickly for the amount of boxes in the room. He tripped over one of the boxes and threw out his hands to avoid falling. Unfortunately, instead of regaining his balance, he stumbled a bit more, and his outstretched arms knocked against Sasuke. The two both fell to the ground, Naruto directly on top of Sasuke.

"Itai…"

"Comfy?"

Confused, Naruto looked down. "EEHHH??"

His face was directly in Uchiha Sasuke's crotch.

Naruto hastily picked himself up off the ground. "Ano-sa, ano-sa! I'm really, really, really, really sorry! I didn't mean it! I'm really—"

"Look, would you just shut up and help me up?"

Blushing furiously, Naruto held out his hand to help Sasuke up. "Look, I really am—"

"Just drop it." Sasuke tried to act cool about the whole situation, but even he couldn't stop the faint blush from reaching his cheeks. "Just…don't ever mention it again, okay?"

"Fine, fine. Let's get you unpacked."

Three boxes later and they were still unpacking Sasuke's clothes.

"Damn, man! I thought only girls had this many outfits! You have, like, a different shirt for every day of the year!"

Sasuke shrugged. "You should see Itachi's closet. You would get _lost_! And if that's not screaming 'gay,' he puts his clothes in rainbow order."

Naruto's laughter died off. "…That's considered gay?"

Sasuke let out what sounded like a laugh. Even if he could round off this gesture of happiness, he couldn't hide the grin spreading across his face. He turned around so Naruto wouldn't see.

"No, seriously… I'm being dead serious. I mean, it just makes finding things so much easier… What the hell is this?"

Sasuke grabbed the glittery shirt from Naruto. "_This_," he said sharply, "is my shirt from my first commercial I was in."

Naruto's nose wrinkled as he eyed the silver sequins. "What were you? Peter Pan?"

Sasuke glared. "The only reason I keep this hideous thing is because Itachi would gut me if I didn't."

"So…Itachi… He's, what, your brother?"

"Unfortunately."

"What about your parents? Where are they?" Naruto shuddered as Sasuke's cold stare was turned his way. "Umm… Look, I'm really sorry—"

Sasuke turned away and said softly, "You really should stop apologizing for everything, you know."

Naruto blushed and rubbed the back of his head. "Sorry, it's a habit. I guess it's just because I mess up so often… I, uh…sorry?"

Sasuke looked at Naruto, but his cold gaze was replaced by a sarcastic smirk. "You're apologizing for saying 'sorry' too often? Baka."

"Whatever, Peter Pan."

Sasuke looked like he was just about to punch Naruto when Itachi interrupted what could have been an all-out brawl. "Are you two ready for dinner? It's almost seven o'clock."

"Why didn't you come get us sooner, Itachi?" Sasuke snapped.

"Because, little brother, you two sounded like you were having so much fun."

Sasuke waited until Itachi had left the room before muttering under his breath, "Bastard."

Naruto stared up at Kyuubi, the fanciest restaurant in the whole city. Naruto had been planning on treating them to Ichiraku Ramen, but instead he was watching his credit go down the drain. Maybe he could beg Tsunade-obaa-chan for a week's extension on his rent…

Naruto stared at the menu, searching for something less than 20. Giving up, he flipped it over to the kid's menu. He might go home hungry, but at least he would be able to afford to grab lunchbox from the grocery store. Maybe that's what he would do instead, and skip dinner all together…

"Naruto-kun." Itachi's voice. Naruto looked up at him over his menu. "Don't worry about prices." Yeah, easy for you to say, freeloader! "I've got the check covered tonight."

Naruto shook his head before he could give in to this tempting offer. "No, no, Uchiha-san! I promised to treat you—"

Itachi held up his hand, and Naruto stopped talking. "It's all right, Naruto-kun. You helped so much with unpacking today, and keeping my little brother out of my hair… It's the least I could do. Here, we'll compromise. I'll pick up the tab, and you take care of the tip."

"O—Okay, Uchiha-san, if you insist—"

Itachi held up his hand once more. "I do insist, and please…call me Itachi."

"Eh…"

"Oh, and please don't worry about the prices. Naruto-kun, tonight you can go all out. You, too, little brother."

While Naruto thanked him, Sasuke remained silent.

When the food arrived, Naruto was the first to shout, "Itadakimasu!" Sasuke looked embarrassed while Itachi smiled.

"You have such a splendid personality, Naru-kun. Wouldn't you agree, Sasuke?"

"Whatever."

Itachi paused with the squid on his chopsticks halfway to his mouth. His eyes narrowed as he glanced across the restaurant. "If you'll excuse me," he said before angrily standing up and storming across the dining area. Naruto watched him go curiously, but he lost sight of him.

"What—?"

Sasuke shrugged. "It's just Kisame," he explained. "He follows us around sometimes."

Naruto stared wide-eyed at Sasuke. "Your brother has a stalker?!"

Sasuke looked bored as he ate his fish. "No, baka, Kisame is a bodyguard." He smirked as he looked up at Naruto. He spoke slowly. "The bodyguard's name is Ki--sa--me."

Naruto looked confused. "Why are you speaking so slowly…?"

"You're being insulted, and you don't even realize it." Sasuke sighed. "You really are an idiot."

"Yeah, yeah, whatever. So…why does your brother need a bodyguard?"

Sasuke raised an eyebrow curiously. "Why would Itachi _have _a bodyguard?"

Naruto was even more confused. "What? But, Kisame—"

"Don't jump to conclusions, dobe. Itachi doesn't need a bodyguard. _I _need a bodyguard. I'm a famous movie star now, remember?" Much to Naruto's surprise, Sasuke didn't sound cocky as he said this. Instead he sounded…upset…

"Uh, yeah, whatever. Movie star. Bodyguard. Gotcha. So, why is Itachi so pissed off?"

"Itachi's not pissed off."

"But then, why did—?"

"Would you let me finish?" Sasuke waited until he had taken another bite of fish, chewed, and swallowed before continuing—just to piss off Naruto. "Itachi's not pissed off at Kisame. Kisame makes him horny as hell. The second he sees that shark, he pulls him off to the nearest bathroom, and, well, if you can't follow _that_, you really _are _an idiot."

Naruto glared. "Well, then, I guess Kisame's not that great of a bodyguard, then, is he?"

"Shut up and eat your dinner."

For once, Naruto did as he was told…but not for too much longer. "So, uh, what does Itachi do? You know, for a living?"

Sasuke sighed and put down his chopsticks. "He's a writer. He writes plays."

"Well, that's cool! So, he's a writer, and you're an actor! Ano-sa, do you act in his plays?" Naruto's excitement died down when he noticed Sasuke's expression. "Or not?"

"Look, I don't want to talk about it—"

"Talk about what, little brother?" Naruto froze. He hadn't even heard Itachi coming!

"Nothing…nee-chan."

"Sorry, Naru-kun," said Itachi, ignoring Sasuke completely. His voice was all smiles, but his face remained the same, almost like a statue. "I thought I saw an…an old friend."

Sasuke snorted. "It's okay, Itachi. I told him about Kisame."

Silence hovered over the table before Itachi broke it with strained laughter. "Well, this is an unexpected turn of events." He looked around. "Waiter? Check, please." He turned toward Sasuke. "You do know that the whole point of a bodyguard is to go _unnoticed_, right? How can he go _unnoticed _if you tell _everyone you meet about him!_"

"He's not much of a bodyguard," Sasuke retaliated, "when he's guarding someone else's body."

Naruto suddenly felt very out of place. He breathed a sigh of relief when the waiter brought the check, breaking up the uncomfortable discussion. Slowly, slowly, Naruto looked over at the check to calculate the tip. He paled. How could they owe a 30 tip when there were only three of them?! The tip alone was more than dinner for four at Ichiraku Ramen! He pulled a twenty and a ten out of his wallet and slowly handed it over to Itachi.

Gee, I really hope you liked this!! I started writing around two o'clock in the morning after eating a whole bunch of ice cream…and I don't really know what happened. All I know is that I've always wanted to write a Naruto fanfic, and I finally did! Yosh! Anywho, I live and breathe reviews, so if you want to keep me alive, send some on by. Honestly, half of my ideas for stories and such come from reviews, so if you have a good idea, type it up and send it to me!


	2. Blueberry Pancakes

Thanks so much to everyone who reviewed!! I love all of you!! Thanks to set, blusum, Mistress Sundrop, ooxshinobixoo, Alicefreak, xxemogoddessxx, and Ja'Ryse!! You guys mean the world to me!! :) Also, much thanks to those of you who added me to your author alerts or added this story to your favorites!! Happy reading!!

Okay, just a note… The first four chapters are going to come out quickly, but after that, updates will come out about once a week. I have this story on another site and it's further along, so I'm trying to catch this one up to it.

_Chapter 2: Blueberry Pancakes_

Naruto couldn't sleep that night; he kept thinking about the movie star next door. Make that the absolutely _gorgeous_movie star next door. He lay looking up at the ceiling, a goofy smile across his face, until he would remember Itachi...and a cold chill would race down his spine. Itachi might have been just as gorgeous as Sasuke, but...it was a dark beauty.

Finally unable to take it, he got up and went to the kitchen. Grabbing a bottle of water, he sat down on the floor in his living room and turned on the television.

Nearly every piece of furniture in his shabby apartment had been courtesy of Tsunade-obaa-chan--and, of course, many a garage sale. His mother died during childbirth and his father was in an accident when Naruto was six, and he spent the rest of his life shifting from foster home to foster home. Luckily, his parents had been thrifty savers. When their little boy was still a bun in the oven, they had opened up a bank account under his name with the first deposit of nearly 200,000 Yen (A/N: Approximately 2,000 - conversion courtesy of Windows Vista Sidebar Currency Converter! Seriously, get a PC - they're way better than Macs. ;)). The money was supposed to go toward Naruto's college, but Naruto had used some of the money to make a down payment on leasing an apartment the previous year. While she pretended to be cruel and heartless, Tsunade had nearly bent over backward to help out the little blond in any way possible. She worked with him on finding a job and had even waived the rent for his first two months.

Naruto focused back on the television, a gift from Tsunade and Shizune for his sixteenth birthday. No way around it, those two had definitely saved him from the foster system, and he was eternally grateful.

Not even knowing what he was watching, Naruto began flipping through the channels, trying to find _something _decent at three o'clock in the morning. He stopped when he heard familiar music and immediately recognized it as the soundtrack from _Insomniac's Dream_. There were flashes of light and color before the real commercial started, and there was Sasuke...

Naruto stared at the digitalized version of his newest crush before realizing that the real thing lived right next door. His goofy grin was back, and he had officially given up on sleep. Glad that he didn't have to wake up for school the next morning, Naruto decided to clean to occupy his attention, hoping that he would fall asleep from boredom soon.

First, he headed toward the refrigerator. He was slightly afraid, as he hadn't cleaned it out in several weeks. He reached hesitantly toward the milk and took a wary sniff. So far so good. Now onto the orange juice...

It didn't take long for Naruto to finish cleaning out anything that had gone bad, but now he was hungry and decided to make a midnight snack. Too lazy to cook anything, he grabbed some instant Ramen noodles, crunched them up, added some peanut butter and honey, stirred it around, and popped the whole thing in the microwave for a few seconds.

After his snack, he headed into the bathroom with about a gallon of bleach and several hundred rags. Then onto the bedroom... Dawn found Naruto vacuuming his family room and still not tired. There was a knock on the door, and Naruto answered it in his boxers. Sasuke blinked sleepily at the blond before blushing at his near nudity.

"Oh!" chirruped Naruto, completely unembarrassed. "Sasuke! How's it going? You want to come in? I was just cleaning."

"I know," said Sasuke coldly, making the hair on Naruto's neck stand on end. "I could hear the vacuum cleaner. Tell me, do you always vacuum at six o'clock in the morning when no one else is up yet?"

Naruto shrugged. "I'm up. The sun's up. And now you're up. What's the problem?"

Sasuke glared. "I had a late night last night, and I'm still tired, so I would appreciate it if--"

"Well, I still haven't gone to sleep yet. I'm not tired. I thought that cleaning might calm my nerves, but it didn't. Anyway, I just finished cleaning my entire apartment, so you can go back to bed."

Sasuke looked moderately impressed. "You never went to sleep?"

"Nope! And I'm still wired!"

"Why?"

Naruto looked confused. "Well... I don't know. Maybe it has something to do with all that soda I drank--"

"No," cut off Sasuke. His voice was a lot softer than Naruto had ever heard it before, and the brunette refused to lift his eyes from the ground. "No. You said it would help calm your nerves, but..." He looked up, suddenly looking much more like himself. His tone was bitter as he said, "What would you know of high strung nerves, dobe?"

Naruto was taken aback at this sudden coldness, but he shook it off as Sasuke possibly not being a morning person. "Look, I'm sorry I kept you up, but how about I make you some breakfast to make up for it?"

Sasuke took a step back. He wasn't used to anyone inviting him into their homes with benevolence. Usually people were only pretending to be nice to him...or were rabid fangirls. He was only surprised, but Naruto took the gesture as one of disgust.

"I'm sorry. It's...clean?"

"What?"

"My apartment. You don't have to be afraid of it. Usually it's a hot mess, but, well...it's clean."

"Oh. ...Am I still invited to breakfast?"

Naruto's face lit up. "Of course!! We're friends, right?"

'Are we?' thought Sasuke. 'I haven't even known him for twenty-four hours. Does that qualify as friendship?'

Naruto brought Sasuke into the now clean apartment and went to put on some lounge pants before heading back to the kitchen to make pancakes. Sasuke sat at the table with a glass of milk, watching the blond closely. While Naruto didn't _seem _like a crazy stalker fan, he didn't seem quite...normal, either.

"So," said Naruto as he mixed together the eggs, milk, and Bisquick, "if you don't mind my asking... We got home from dinner at like nine. How does that constitute as a late night?"

Having half fallen asleep at the table, Sasuke jerked upward. "What?"

"You said you had a late night last night, which was why you didn't get a lot of sleep. Why were you up so late?"

"Oh." Sasuke expression soured. "Kisame was over last night, as per Itachi's request. I'm a light sleeper, and my bedroom shares a wall with my brother's."

Naruto's eyes widened when he realized the full implications of this statement. "Oh. Oh wow." Then he was confused. "But...you said you could hear the vacuum cleaner, but I was up, too, and I didn't hear any...activity."

Sasuke shrugged. "Our bedrooms are on the far side of the apartment, but I ended up getting up and sleeping on the couch, which is close to this wall."

"Oh." He paused. "But...I could never hear any vacuuming from the other tenants..."

Sasuke began to panic. How would he explain that he had been curious about the blond and had found himself pacing outside his apartment as the sun rose, thinking of different excuses to talk to him--

Sasuke shook his head. No! He was Uchiha Sasuke! He was a very big star, and he definitely did not get crushes on anyone below his status. And he definitely didn't get crushes on stupid blonds! With stupid, sparkling blue eyes! With stupid, flawless, tanned skin!

'Snap out of it!' he chastised himself.

Naruto set a plate down in front of Sasuke and drenched the blueberry pancake in syrup before fixing one for himself. For the most part, the pair ate with only the TV in the other room keeping them company from the silence. When they finished, Naruto dumped the dishes in the sink.

"You're not going to clean those?" Sasuke said, surprising himself with his joking tone.

Naruto laughed. "I've had enough cleaning for a while. I'll clean them later...maybe." His eyes suddenly lit up. "Oh! Ano sa, ano sa!"

"What?"

"Well, you're new in town, right? So, I mean, you don't really know of any cool hang out spots. Wanna hang out with me today, and I'll show you around? And I can introduce you to some of my friends! Well, well?"

Sasuke stared at the bouncing blond in front of him. Naruto looked more excited than a child getting a puppy on a snowy Christmas morning. Inwardly, he smiled, intoxicated with the exuberance emanating from this...this idol of perfection.

'Ugh,' Sasuke thought to himself. 'Itachi's stupid plays must be rubbing off on me. What the hell? Idol of perfection! Baka! Sasuke, get yourself together!'

Out loud, he surprised himself by saying, "Sure thing, dobe. Let me get dressed."

"All right!"

Naruto immediately bounded into his bedroom, and a second later, Sasuke heard the shower running. Shaking his head, Sasuke headed back into his own apartment to grab a shower of his own.

The warm water felt nice as it pounded Sasuke's tired body. For a moment, he thought he would fall asleep until he looked downward at a little...problem that had developed. He watched as he thought back to the way Naruto had wandered around his apartment half naked and his body responded accordingly. He had never thought of himself as being attracted to men, but Naruto was different. Naruto was the exception to every rule.

Frowning, Sasuke resigned himself to taking care of this problem. He closed his eyes and found his mind wandering immediately to Naruto. He imagined the blond in his own shower, rubbing soap all over that gorgeous body...

Sasuke poured some soap in his hand and began stroking himself, getting fully hard immediately when he imagined Naruto on his knees in front of him, his lips slowly sliding down his cock. He imagined himself coiling his fingers tightly in the blonde's hair as he slowly slid in and out of the warm, wet heat.

He let out a breathy moan, using his hand to steady himself against the shower wall as he tightened his grip and stroked even faster. He imagined Naruto's pink tongue licking his balls while his strong, calloused hand stroked his dick.

"Naruto," he whispered softly, breathing heavily. A few more strokes, and he came hard against the side of the shower. He slumped over, trying to catch his breath before quickly cleaning up and finishing his shower.

Turning off the water, Sasuke wrapped a towel around his waist and used another to dry his hair a little. He heard a knock on the bathroom door just as he was opening it. Itachi stood on the other side of the door, his hand still in the air.

"Yes?" Sasuke asked, narrowing his eyes slightly.

"Your friend is here," Itachi said simply before walking back into his own bedroom.

Sasuke walked into his room and jumped when he saw Naruto.

"Sorry, your brother told me to wait here," said Naruto sheepishly, rubbing the back of his head. He sat on the bed and bounced up and down a few times. "Wow, this is a nice mattress you've got here. Mine came out of somebody else's trash can, and sometimes I can smell cat piss, even though we washed it and aired it out for several days before we put it in my room. It's awful. I'm saving up some money to get a new one, but first, I need to get a new dresser. My top drawer came out the other day, and now it won't go back in. Besides, it's really ugly. Although, I know I shouldn't complain, because I got it from Tsunade-obaa-san, but, I mean, you know..."

Sasuke stared at the blond and wondered if he was even listening to himself as he chattered away. He waited for Naruto to take a breath before he said, "Umm, do you mind? I need to get dressed."

"What? Oh. Well, I mean, we're both guys. Does it really matter? But, if you insist..." Naruto sighed and reluctantly got off the mattress. "I'll be in my room, so just walk on in when you're ready."

Sasuke nodded and watched Naruto go. Even though he was only wearing jeans and a T-shirt, he still exuded sexiness in a way Sasuke never thought humanly possible. He finished getting ready as quickly as possible in order to see the blond that much sooner. He was almost out the door when he remembered something. Resigning himself, he knocked on Itachi's door.

"What do you want?" his brother snapped without opening the door.

"Is Kisame still here?" He tried to keep his voice cold, but Itachi's tone was made of ice.

"Yes."

"...Kisame?"

Sasuke heard movement and the rustling of fabric. A minute later, the door opened, revealing a disheveled Kisame. "Yeah?"

"I'm heading out."

"Oh." Kisame frowned. "You want to grab some breakfast while I shower?"

"I already ate," Sasuke answered, his eyes narrowed.

Itachi appeared at the door and wrapped his arms around the shark's waist and rested his head on his shoulder. His eyes appeared red in the darkness of the room. "Really?" he said slowly, the simple word flowing from his tongue like silk. "What did you have?"

"Blueberry pancakes." Sasuke shifted nervously, wondering where this conversation was going.

"I didn't smell any cooking." Itachi's eyes narrowed a millimeter as he surveyed his brother. "Where did you get the pancakes?" The question sounded innocent, but the hairs on the back of Sasuke's neck were standing on end.

"Naruto asked me over for breakfast."

Itachi's eyebrow arched smoothly. "Oh? When? I don't remember him asking at dinner last night." He smirked. "You weren't in your room this morning, either. Did you two have a sleepover?"

"I was on the couch," Sasuke snapped. His voice lowered a few more degrees as he said, "I heard vacuuming this morning and went to tell him to shut up. He made me breakfast in apology."

"Did he?" Itachi's tongue licked the shell of Kisame's ear, and Sasuke took an unconscious step backward, still not sure where this was going. "But, my dear little brother...the walls between these apartments are soundproof." Kisame groaned and leaned backward. Sasuke's eyes widened when he realized Itachi's hand had snaked its way into the shark's pants. "Now, listen, little brother... I'm the one paying Kisame to baby-sit you, but he's a little busy at the moment, savvy?"

Sasuke glared. "I'll call Deidara, then," he said frigidly.

The door closed and a second later, Sasuke heard a body slam into the door and Kisame moan in pleasure. "Itachi..."

Sasuke spun on his heel and stormed out of the apartment, quickly dialing the number of the bodyguard agency, Akatsuki.

"Good morning, Uchiha-san," said a dangerous voice on the other line. "This is Orochimaru. Is Kisame out of commission again? If he is, I myself would be more than happy to--"

"No, thank you," said Sasuke quickly. The last time--and only time--he had unknowingly allowed Orochimaru to watch him, the snake had made more than enough sexual advances to last him a lifetime. "I--I don't want to be a burden. I was wondering if Deidara was in?"

Orochimaru sighed. "Are you sure you don't want me--?"

"No!" He quickly covered himself. "I mean, no, thank you. I'd rather have Deidara."

"Well, Deidara isn't in at the moment. He already has a prior engagement. But I myself am absolutely free--"

"What about Pein?" Sasuke asked quickly. "Pein is always in, right?" He laughed nervously.

Orochimaru sounded annoyed when he said, "Yes, Pein is in. I'll send him over." Without another word, Orochimaru hung up the phone.

Shaking off a shudder, Sasuke knocked on Naruto's door. The door swung open, and Sasuke was met by Naruto's blinding smile. "SASUKE!!" He pulled the brunette into a hug. "I have the whole day planned out! Come on, let's go!"

Sasuke's face was pressed into Naruto's hair and he sniffed curiously. He smiled inwardly, committing the smell of peaches and sunshine that was Naruto to memory. He realized he was being pulled toward the elevator and pulled back on Naruto. "Wait. I have to wait for my bodyguard."

"Kisame?" Naruto's eyes widened at the sudden hate radiating in Sasuke's eyes. "Uh, sorry?"

Sasuke closed his eyes. "No, it's nothing. Kisame's just a little...busy with Itachi at the moment." He opened his eyes and smirked at Naruto's shocked expression. "What? Uncomfortable with two men having sex?"

Naruto shook his head. "No, it's not that. It's just... Damn, how can they do it so many times in one day? I mean, sometimes I can barely get it up a third time! I can't imagine having sex so many times in one day!"

Sasuke flushed as he thought about Naruto touching himself, but quickly pushed the thoughts away. "I'd rather not think about it. He's my brother."

"So, if Kisame's not going to watch you," said Naruto, completely unaware of how the situation would normally be construed as "awkward beyond all belief," "then who is?"

"Pein."

"Eh? You're in pain?"

Sasuke started to laugh but caught himself. It was not becoming of an Uchiha to show emotion. "No, that's his name. Pein."

"Oh. Weird name. Then again, my name is edible."

This time Sasuke couldn't help but laugh.

Naruto smiled. "Hey! I think that's the first time I've heard you laugh! You have a nice laugh... You should do it more often."

As Sasuke blushed, he realized that moving to this new city was just the chance he needed. He had always felt held back by his family's expectations and his brother's overpowering shadow. By moving to a new place with new people, he could become anyone he wanted! He would no longer be held back by the Uchiha name but would build up a new name for himself as Sasuke.

"It's totally different from my laugh," said Naruto, laughing. "See? It's loud and obnoxious. I wish I could change it, you know?"

"No, it's nice," Sasuke answered shyly, surprising himself. He hadn't realized he could ever be shy.

Naruto was about to answer when the elevator doors opened. He jumped when he saw a man with red hair emerge and more piercings than any man should ever have. He narrowed his eyes when he saw Naruto, and his hand was at his pocket when Sasuke stopped him.

"Ah! Pein! Wait! This is my friend, Naruto!"

Pein's eyes laughed. "Friend?"

"Ah, never mind. Pein, we're going to take the stairs. Get some exercise, you know?"

Naruto sighed thankfully. He would have been scared out of his mind to be trapped in an elevator with this man, especially since this Pein seemed to be hell bent on killing him.

"So, where are we going first?" Sasuke asked when they were outside.

"Ah," said Naruto, holding his finger up to his lips. "It's a secret!" Without warning, Naruto grabbed Sasuke by the wrist and began hauling him down the street. When they arrived in front of the movie theater, however, Sasuke put an immediate halt to their fun.

"No," he said sternly. "We are _not _going to watch _Insomniac's Dream_. I refuse."

Naruto looked bemused. "I just saw it yesterday, so of course we're not going to see it. Besides, you're _in _it. I can imagine you wouldn't want to see it if you know the whole damn thing by heart."

"Then...why are we at the movie theater?"

"Oh. Just to say 'hi' to one of my friends. Besides that, this place has got a kick ass arcade. I told everyone to meet us here." Naruto took hold of Sasuke's hand and dragged him inside.

The theater was set up so that straight ahead was the concessions stand, to the right was the arcade, and to the left was a long hallway with theaters on either side. The hallway was roped off at the moment, but once the theater actually opened, an usher stood at the entrance and took the ticket stubs. Because the arcade had such a pull as a hang out spot, it was open twenty four hours a day. In the off hours, such as early morning, only one employee was put in charge, but during peak hours, there could be up to five employees standing watch over the rambunctious youngsters. Currently, Haku was the only one in the arcade when Naruto and Sasuke entered.

"Hey, Haku!" greeted Naruto.

Haku was playing a game to pass the time and was staring at the screen intently. He nodded his greeting toward Naruto, unwilling to take his eyes from the game even for a moment. Naruto chuckled and waited for Haku to finish.

"Kuso!" Haku hissed suddenly. "I can never win at Pacman! I've been trying since my shift started at five!" He turned around, and when he saw Sasuke, he jumped. "W--Whoa! Naruto, who's your friend? He looks just like Uchiha Sasuke from _Insomniac's Dream_!"

Naruto laughed at Haku's reaction. "He is!"

Haku snorted. "Yeah right." He held his hand out to Sasuke, who took it warily. "I'm Haku. I've known Naruto since we were kids, even through all the foster care home switching shit."

"Haku's the one who's kept me sane," said Naruto.

"And who are you?" Haku was smiling pleasantly, and Sasuke felt drawn in by the warmth, almost convinced that nothing could ever go wrong in the world.

"I'm Uchiha Sasuke," he said, inwardly smirking when Haku's jaw dropped almost to the floor, "and this is my bodyguard, Pein."

Pein scowled. "Sasuke, it's my job to remain unnoticed. Don't call me your bodyguard."

Sasuke rolled his eyes. "Whatever."

Haku stared at his hand for several moments. "I--I've touched _the _Uchiha Sasuke...world's sexiest man... This is like a dream come true...!"

Naruto laughed. "Don't let Zabuza hear you say that!"

"Who's Zabuza?" Sasuke asked.

"He's Haku's boyfriend," Naruto answered. "They've been dating for almost two years. Oh! Here he is!"

Zabuza walked in, followed by Shikamaru. They were both introduced to Sasuke and both had expressions mirroring Haku's. All three suddenly began asking Sasuke questions at the same time about life as a movie star slash model. Naruto noticed the uncomfortable look on Sasuke's face and immediately put a stop to the questions.

"Ano sa, ano sa! Don't you think Sasuke gets enough of this rabid fan business? He's just a kid like you and me, so chill out!"

"Where did you find him?" Shikamaru asked, eyeing Sasuke with a mix between curiosity and adoration. Suddenly, he looked very serious. "You didn't kidnap him, did you?"

Naruto laughed. "No! Of course not! This is my new neighbor I was telling you about!"

"So jealous...," Haku whined.

At that moment, Kiba, Hinata, Neji, and Gaara entered the room. They stopped dead in their tracks when they spotted Sasuke.

"N--Naruto?" Kiba said hesitantly. "I--Is that who I think it is?"

Naruto smirked and placed his hand on Sasuke's shoulder. "This is my new neighbor. Since he's new in town, I thought we could show him around town, so be nice to Uchiha Sasuke."

Their jaws hit the floor at the same time. Gaara began circling the brunette like a hawk, eyeing him from every angle. Hinata squealed in delight before turning bright red and tapping her fingers together anxiously. Kiba stuttered nonsense words, not quite able to form a coherent sentence. Neji tried to look unimpressed but ended up having an interesting mix of awe and bewilderment gracing his porcelain features.

Naruto let this go on for several seconds before he finally broke down laughing. "Aaahhh! Your faces are _priceless_! Good_ness_, you'd think he were a god the way you're staring at him!"

"He is a god," said Haku, lowering his eyelids seductively. Zabuza growled low in his throat and gripped Haku by the arm. Haku giggled and leaned into his boyfriend, turning his expression upward and earning himself a light kiss.

"..." Sasuke didn't know what to say. He had encountered strange fans before, but this was something to write home about. He leaned over to Naruto and whispered, "Your friends are weird."

Naruto laughed even harder. When he finally recovered, he was able to make formal introductions. When the others had finally calmed down a little, they waved goodbye to Haku and Zabuza and walked outside to show Sasuke around town.

Halfway up the block, Neji glanced behind them. "Naruto," he said softly, "that guy from the arcade is following us."

"Oh," said Naruto, his face dropping. "Yeah, that's Sasuke's bodyguard. Just...ignore him, I guess." He turned to Sasuke. "Should we include Pein in our festivities?"

Sasuke shook his head. "No, thanks. I don't even want him to be here, but Itachi _insists _that I have a bodyguard at all times. And I suppose that makes sense, but...if he didn't keep fucking them, I would probably have even less of a problem."

"Oh."

"We're here!" Kiba announced happily as their group stopped outside Might Gym, which was run by Mighto Guy and his son, Lee.

"A gym?" Gaara said skeptically. "Come on, Sasuke doesn't want to see a gym..."

Neji eyed the place warily. "Plus, we don't want Lee following us, do we?"

Naruto sighed. "Under normal circumstances, I would avoid this place while Lee is working like the plague, but...I promised I'd do him a favor today. I promised too hook him up with Sakura."

Kiba's jaw dropped. "No way! Naruto, I thought you had a thing for Sakura!"

Naruto shrugged. "Yeah, well, it was just a thing. But I'm over her now. Here, I'll go get Lee." He disappeared and emerged several minutes later with the infamous Lee, bowl cut, massive eyebrows, green jump suit, and all.

"Let's adventure forward with the spirit of YOUTH!" Lee shouted as a way of greeting. "Please wait for me, my pink blossom of love!" Without another word, he ran five quick laps around their group. He would have run more, but Naruto warned him that Sakura wouldn't appreciate Lee showing up at her doorsteps covered in sweat stains.

As their group made their way to the Haruna residence, Sasuke got to know the others a little bit more. He felt at ease with Naruto and his friends, an emotion he had never felt before but suddenly felt himself craving. Sasuke also felt grateful that his career wasn't mentioned once; for the first time in his life, he felt like a normal person.

Lee stared at Sakura's house, trembling as he, Naruto, and Sasuke approached the front door while the others stood watching from the road. Naruto pressed the doorbell and Sakura answered moments later.

"Narukuuun...!" Sakura put on an expression she thought of as sexy but Naruto found as rather amusing. "What a surprise! Is there something I can...do for you?"

"Yeah," said Naruto. "I know I promised to take you on a date some time, but I was wondering if Lee could take my place. You see, I'm showing my new friend here around town--"

Sakura eyed Sasuke and froze. "I--Is that--?" She squealed and jumped up and down. Sasuke hid behind Naruto, quickly recognizing the signs of a rabid fangirl and suddenly glad that Pein was close by to save him if the situation turned dire.

However, Naruto saved him. "This is my friend Nanasawa Hatori. He just moved into the apartment next to mine."

"Oh. You know, he looks just like Uchiha Sasuke..."

Naruto gave her a funny look. "From _Insomniac's Dream_?" He glanced from Sasuke back to Sakura. "No way! You must be dreaming! They look nothing alike!" He laughed. "So, anyway, Lee's going to be taking you on your date now." He shoved Lee toward Sakura and bolted, dragging Sasuke along behind him.

"Thanks," said Sasuke several minutes later.

"No problem," said Naruto.

The seven of them arrived in the park and Shikamaru immediately laid down in the grass by the lake watching as the clouds drifted lazily by.

"Kiba-kun!" said Hinata, taking him by the hand. "Let's go rent a boat, and we can have lunch on the lake!"

Naruto grinned. "That's a great idea, Hina-chan! Sasuke, Gaara, and I will go to the store and get some stuff to eat!"

"And what will I do?" Neji asked testily.

Shikamaru reached up and pulled Neji down next to him. He moved so his head was resting in his lap and said, "Keep me company, baka."

Naruto laughed before taking both Sasuke and Gaara by the hands and dragging them off to the nearest grocery store.

"It's such a beautiful park," Sasuke commented as they passed under a grove of cherry trees. "Such a beautiful day, too."

Naruto grinned. "And such beautiful people to keep me company."

Sasuke blushed, but Gaara snorted. "Naruto, you're so full of it. Besides, I doubt anyone would be interested in _you_."

Naruto stopped. "You take that back!" Naruto tried to sound ferocious, but it was lost by the large grin plastered across his face.

Gaara rolled his eyes and crossed his arms, obviously used to this game the two played. "No one would ever be interested in such an idiot like you," he repeated.

"Teme...," Naruto growled. He grabbed Gaara by the front of his shirt and pushed their lips together in a rough kiss. Sasuke looked on as Gaara tangled his hand in Naruto's hair and ground his hips into Naruto's. At first Sasuke was shocked but then he felt a sharp pain in his heart--was it jealousy?

'Keh!' Sasuke reprimanded himself. 'What do you have to be jealous about? You just met this idiot. Of course such an embodiment of perfection would already have a boyfriend! Like hell you'd even have a chance with him...'

The two broke apart, laughing. "Sorry about that," said Naruto to Sasuke, nervously rubbing the back of his head with his hand. "It's just a joke Gaara and I play from time to time. I know it's weird, but..." He laughed again.

"Oh."

Gaara waited until Naruto had started walking again before asking Sasuke softly, "Are you okay? You look depressed..."

"It's nothing," Sasuke lied, suddenly feeling an immense hatred toward the redhead.

Gaara shrugged and sped up to catch up to Naruto. Feeling dejected, Sasuke hung back, watching the pair in front of him. A few paces later, Naruto turned around, that gorgeous, breathtaking smile gracing his features. "Come on, Sasuke! You're missing the party!"

"I can give you a kiss, too, if you want," Gaara mocked.

"No, thanks," Sasuke said in a voice he usually reserved for his brother.

Gaara looked as if he had been slapped across the face and refused to say another word all the way to the store.

The trio returned hauling tons of groceries and saw that Hinata and Kiba already had the small boat ready. Shikamaru had fallen asleep in Neji's lap and it took several tries to wake him. Sasuke was feeling a little less jealous and was back to treating Gaara nicely. They had a nice lunch as the boat drifted lazily across the lake.

Nearly an hour later, the boat had finally made its way to the middle of the lake. Naruto suddenly jumped up, stripped down to his boxers, and dove into the water. He resurfaced a few seconds later, shaking the water from his eyes and laughing. "Come on in!" he called. "The water's great!"

Without hesitating, Kiba stripped down and dove in as well, purposely aiming for Naruto's head.

"Be careful!" Hinata called, tapping her fingers together nervously.

"Come on in, Hinata!" Kiba called, staring at her lecherously.

Hinata glared. "N--No, thank you, Kiba-kun."

"Sasuke?" Naruto said. "Wanna come in?"

Under normal circumstances, Sasuke might have joined them in the lake, but seeing Naruto undress had directed the blood flow away from his brain and toward more...interesting parts of his body. He couldn't undress in front of everyone sporting an erection--he would die of embarrassment!

"Ah, boo!" said Naruto when Sasuke shook his head. "Gaara?"

Gaara also shook his head, although he offered an explanation. "Sorry, Naruto. I went commando today. If Hinata-chan weren't here...maybe."

Hinata blushed. "Th--Th--Thank you, G--Gaara-kun."

Gaara shrugged.

"Neji?" Naruto asked hopefully.

Neji put a finger to his lips. "Shh! Shikamaru's asleep." Shikamaru shifted in Neji's lap, which brought a rare smile to Neji's thin lips.

Sighing, Naruto said dejectedly, "Fine, I see how it is. Way to leave me hangin'."

"Don't forget about me!!" Kiba shouted as he dunked Naruto's head under the water. Those on the boat laughed when Naruto grabbed Kiba's leg and pulled him under as well. When they surfaced, Neji made a show of checking his watch before saying, "It's getting late. Maybe we should head in."

"Don't you dare leave me, teme!!" Naruto shouted.

"What about me?" Kiba yelled, scrambling as fast as he could through the water toward the boat. "If you leave me, I'll kill you!! ...Except you, Hinata."

Shikamaru cracked one eye open. "Could you keep it down, please?" he growled. "I'm sleeping."

Fifteen minutes later, Sasuke had finally willed his erection away and felt comfortable getting in the lake. He stood up and took off his shirt. "All right!" he announced. "I'm getting in, Naruto."

Naruto, who had been in the process of dunking Kiba, froze when his eyes met his naked torso. Sasuke had the skin of finest porcelain and the faintest hint of muscles. When he removed his pants, Naruto followed the line of dark hair down to the hem of his boxers before licking his lips subconsciously. He was suddenly caught off guard when Kiba hit him with a wave of water. He resurfaced, coughing water out of his lungs.

"You okay?" Sasuke asked, already in the water.

Naruto nodded, his eyes tearing up. He coughed once more before his lungs were clear. He glanced at Kiba before shouting, "Teme!! I'm going to kill you!!"

On the boat, Shikamaru smirked. "Keep it down, you two! Don't make me come in there and kill you."

On the other side of the boat, Gaara had also taken notice of Sasuke's beauty. Contrary to what others believed, he had no sexual attraction to the loud ball of energy called Naruto. They had started their kissing game when every one else in their group of friends was in a relationship. Haku had Zabuza and shortly after, Kiba finally worked up the courage to ask out Hinata. It was only recently that Shikamaru and Neji became an item. Naruto and Gaara began to joke that one day they would end up getting together, so they started up their kissing game whenever their moods called for it. They never did more than kiss, however, and because they were such close friends, they were able to keep it as a joke and nothing more.

However...this Sasuke...

Gaara watched as Sasuke dunked Naruto, laughing. He could tell the two were attracted to each other but knew that they would never admit it--especially not to each other. While he would normally have made a move on the new object of his affection, he had enough respect for Naruto to give him the chance with the movie star that he deserved. After all, Naruto was the first real friend Gaara had ever had.

In the lake, Sasuke and Kiba had teamed up on the blond and were continuously dunking him until they all finally collapsed in a fit of exhausted laughter. They floated around for a while before climbing back in the boat to let the sun dry their bodies before they dressed and rowed back to shore.

A soft, melodic line drifted across the lake, unnoticed by the tight group of friends. On the shore, Pein flipped open his cell phone. "Hai, Itachi."

"Pein... What's my little brother doing now?"

Pein relayed the situation.

Itachi smiled. However, this smile held no light or positivity that a normal smile should have. Instead, it was a dark smile that promised doom. "Really? With the blond? Oh, trust me... This will not end well for our little pop star."

Kisame smirked from under the covers and waited for his lover to finish the call before remarking, "Aren't you being a little hard on him? He's your brother, after all. Should you be a little nice to him?"

Itachi's laugh was hollow. "You're kidding, right?"

"Of course."

Kisame reached up and pulled Itachi to him, kissing him roughly before rolling them over and straddling his waist. He kissed along his neck and down his torso, but Itachi pushed him away and grabbed a pair of his discarded pants. "Itaachiii..." Kisame moaned. "Come on, you know I won't get too many more days off... We have to make the best of it." He ran a finger down Itachi's back and stopped at the base of his spinal column.

Itachi groaned but pulled on his pants anyway. "Kisame, what do you say we take a little walk."

"Where to?"

"Well," said Itachi adopting a noble facade, "as my little brother's bodyguard, you should find out everything there is to know about his little friends, right?"

Kisame smirked. "Oh? Is that your plan?" He laughed. "All right, all right. But don't get mad at me when I have to work all day tomorrow. You know I'm going to catch hell for this from Orochimaru."

"Don't worry about it. You know I can appease that snake."

-

Dun dun duuuuuun!! What is Itachi planning?! Surely he can't be as evil as he seems! (And in this fic, he is!)

By the way, Naruto's little midnight snack -- seriously, the best thing I've ever eaten. I'm really bad at coming up with snack ideas because we never buy anything...so I have all this stuff to make other stuff with (like chicken and peanut butter and bread) and nothing already made (like chips, what normal people eat), so whenever I'm hungry, I always manage to make the weirdest things. Or I just eat a whole bunch of different things in small portions. Like pickels and then buttered toast and then strawberries. I'm like a pregnant woman, I swear, with all of the crazy cravings I get, too. But! Anyway! So, the Ramen noodles / peanut butter / honey thing is delicious. I prefer, actually, to heat the peanut butter and honey and then dip the noodles into it, but whatever. Anywho, so -- if you want, send me your own snack ideas in a review! Because a hungry author never writes! :) (Just kidding. Right now, it's like midnight and I'm starving, and I have a hankering for baby back ribs. But nooo! I can't go to Chilis! So I write! :D)

Oh, and I'm sorry if any of you like Lee. I put him in a kind of bad light because I can't fucking stand him! Also, I can't stand Sakura or Guy. I try not to be bias when writing fanfiction, but sometimes my hatred gets away from me. They just suck as characters. But, anyway, have any of you seen Bedazzled with Brendan Frasier (mmm...) and Elizabeth Hurley? Anywho, Lee reminds me of Brendan Frasier's character, and how he thinks everyone likes him and he's so cool but secretly everyone hates him and tries to avoid him like their lives depend on it. Maybe I'm being too hard on him?

Please feed the review whore. :)


	3. The Photo Shoot

So, if you haven't heard of the band The Medic Droid, you definitely need to get on that. I just bought their CD, _What's Your Medium_, and I'm pretty much just rockin' out to it right now. I don't really know how to explain it… It's techno, definitely, but…much, much more. :D It's like sex on my eardrums—aural sex! I recommend "Fer Sure" and "Fscene8." But if you're more into indie, definitely check out Scissors for Lefty, specifically "Mama Your Boys Will Find a Home" and "Jump on It." Oh, so, if you hadn't noticed, I love checking out new bands, so if you have anything supah rad, send it my way and I'll check it out. :)

Thanks so much to my reviewers!! I can't believe how much of a hit this has been! Thanks to drarythoughts (I think I might be able to work a little threesome in here :), but it won't be for a loooong time), Lybe (Ah! I love food! Send me all of your crazy combinations! :) Oh, and don't worry about the GaaSasu; it won't be for a while and this is a NaruSasu fic, after all, so it won't last too long), Mistress Sundrop, dragontwister, Alicefreak (Hey! Your names on here again! :) I'm sorry your sister's never had her name on a fic… :( So…thanks, too, to Alicefreak's sister!!), Fangirl66, JaRyse, and blusum!!

_Chapter 3: The Photo Shoot_

"ITADAKIMASU!!" Naruto shouted as he broke apart his chopsticks and began scarfing down his super extra large bowl of ultimate ramen. He was halfway through the bowl before he took the time to breathe. "Ahhh! Excellent!" He noticed Sasuke's bewildered expression before explaining: "Gomen, but swimming takes a lot out of me. I was _starving_!"

Sasuke shook his head before helping himself to his own (much smaller) bowl of ramen. It was surprisingly good, for such a small ramen shop, and by the time he had finished his dinner, he was willing to admit that it was the best ramen he had ever had. "What is this place?"

"Ichiraku Ramen!" Naruto shouted. "Isn't it the best?"

Sasuke smiled. "Yeah." He had never been this open with his emotions with anyone before, but Naruto made him feel...wanted. And not in the way he usually felt, with drooling fans surrounding him from every side, but in a way he hadn't even felt from his own parents. "Hey... Thanks for today. It was...fun."

Naruto grinned before finishing the rest of his meal in one large gulp. "No problem, Sasuke! I had fun, too, but don't worry--today's not over yet! I still have tons of stuff planned!"

"But...it's already nine o'clock..."

"So? It's summer vacation! Live a little!"

"Yeah, but...I have to go somewhere tomorrow. You might not have school, but I have a job."

"Oh?" Naruto grabbed several bills from his wallet before tossing them on the table and gesturing to Sasuke to follow him out of the restaurant. He had felt that Sasuke's job was a bit of a touchy subject, so he hadn't brought it up, even though he was very curious. He let Sasuke take control of the conversation, revealing what he wanted about himself, while Naruto led them back toward the apartment.

"Yeah, I have a photo shoot tomorrow downtown. It'll be really boring." They were passing the park, and Sasuke suddenly grabbed Naruto's hand and led him over to a wrought iron bench by the fountain. They sat, listening to the sounds of water and insects, the moon bathing them in a soft, white glow and the wind pulling its fingers through their hair.

"I hate it," said Sasuke softly.

Naruto intertwined their fingers and squeezed gently, letting Sasuke know he was there for him. He merely sat and listened.

"I hate people looking at me," Sasuke said nearly a minute later. "I hate people knowing more about me than _I _know about me."

"Why do you do it, then?"

"Because..." Sasuke sighed and rested his head on Naruto's shoulder. He closed his eyes and fought off the tears. "Itachi was always the best at everything. He was the prodigy, perfection at its finest, and I was...subpar. My parents pushed me into modeling, saying that my only talent was my good looks but maybe one day I could be almost equal to Itachi in their eyes." His next words were so soft that Naruto had to lean in closer just to hear them. "Itachi began writing plays, and his college recognized him for his incredible talent. His first play was turned into a movie, and I was cast as the main character... _Insomniac's Dream _was my first movie, but I've already gotten hundreds of offers for more parts."

Naruto jumped. "Y--You mean...your _brother _wrote _Insomniac's Dream_?"

Sasuke sat up and scowled, his dark eyes red and a little puffy. "Yes," he said bitterly. "Now you're going to go on and on about how great Itachi is and how I don't even come close to his standards."

Naruto chuckled deeply. "Honestly, I couldn't tell you how great of a writer Itachi is, because I wasn't really paying attention to what was going on. I was a little...distracted."

"By what?"

"By you."

Sasuke froze. Was Naruto saying what he thought he was saying...?

The blonde wrapped his arms around Sasuke and pulled him close. "You were so gorgeous that I couldn't take my eyes off you. And now that I've gotten to know you, Sasuke...I don't know how I've ever lived without you." He pushed Sasuke to arms length and was surprised to see the brunette crying. "S--Sasuke?" he asked, panicked. "What--What's wrong? Was it what I said?"

Sasuke couldn't stop the tears. Years and years of emotion that he had bottled up and stored in the deepest parts of his soul had finally exploded with Naruto's simple loving gesture and wonderful words. "Oh, Naruto," he said breathily. "Why are you being so good to me?"

Naruto didn't answer. Instead, he took Sasuke's chin lightly between his fingers and tugged until their lips met in a soft kiss. He held Sasuke in his arms as he cried until the brunette had fallen asleep. Naruto buried his nose in those soft, dark locks and inhaled his scent. How could he ever tell Sasuke that he had fallen for him--and fallen hard?

There was a rustling in the bushes, and Naruto glanced up, startled, having forgotten about Sasuke's bodyguard. Without a sound, Pein lifted Sasuke's body gently, and Naruto followed as Pein carried the model back to the apartment.

Sasuke awoke the next morning feeling better than he ever had before. He felt refreshed, renewed, recharged. He headed to the bathroom and took a shower, reveling in this new feeling. He had just finished getting ready for his photo shoot when he heard a knock at the front door. Thinking it would be Kisame or Pein or even (gulp!) Orochimaru, he was surprised to see Naruto's smiling face. He remembered the previous night and blushed.

"G--Good morning, Naruto-kun."

Naruto held up a plate of English muffins and a jug of orange juice. "I brought breakfast. Can I come in?"

"O--Oh, yeah... Sure."

"You look nice," said Naruto as he spread strawberry jam on one of the English muffins. He poured two glasses of orange juice and slid the muffin and a glass of juice toward Sasuke. "Are you dressed for the photo shoot?"

"...Yeah."

Naruto grinned around his muffin. "You know," he said with his mouth full, "you said it was boring. Want me to come with? I can try to make you less bored."

Sasuke smirked outwardly but was touched by the gesture. "You just want to come so you can see the half-naked women."

Naruto laughed loudly. "Well, I hadn't even thought about that, but now that you mention it, you've sold me on the idea! I'm coming whether you like it or not!"

"Baka."

Naruto stuck out his tongue. "Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words can never hurt me." He froze suddenly when every hair on his body stood on end. He turned around and saw Itachi staring at him, a curious expression gracing those dangerously red lips. "G--Good morning, Itachi-san. I--I brought over some breakfast. Would you like some?"

Itachi's lips formed a smile, but it was full of dark intent. "Yes, thank-you, Naruto-kun." He took the English muffin the blonde held out for him and took a small bite before placing it back on the plate. "And thank you for taking care of my little brother yesterday. Although, you sure did tire him out. I'm not even sure if little Sasuke even remembers how he got home last night."

Sasuke blushed deeply and hid his face behind his orange juice glass. It was true. He had no memory of the previous night past the kiss--

Sasuke choked. What if Naruto had taken advantage of him? What if Itachi had--?

"Are you okay?" Naruto asked, concerned. He thumped Sasuke on the back until the brunette could breathe. "Oh, and Pein brought you home last night, by the way, after you fell asleep at the park. He's actually a really nice guy, that Pein. Is he going with you today?"

"No, I am." Naruto whipped around and jumped, not having heard Kisame come through the front door. He averted his eyes when Itachi glided over and wrapped his arms around Kisame's neck and kissed his cheek.

"I missed you," Itachi said softly, grinding a little into Kisame's leg.

Kisame rolled his eyes. "Sasuke, are you almost ready to go?"

Sasuke nodded. "Yeah. Oh, and Naruto's coming with me. He's never been to photo shoot, so I asked him to keep me company."

Naruto shifted uneasily under Itachi's red glare. "Oh?" the elder Uchiha drawled. "How nice of him. However, Naruto-kun, you can always stay here and keep _me _company, if my little brother is too much of a bore for you..."

"Er... Thanks, but no thanks, Itachi-san."

"Oh, that's too bad. How about tomorrow, Naruto-kun?"

"Uh, I have to work." Naruto had never felt more uncomfortable in his life. Was Itachi hitting on him? How was that possible, when his arms were wrapped around Kisame's neck and his tongue was ghosting across his flesh. Naruto gulped when he spotted Kisame's very large, very obvious hard-on. He shifted his attention back to his breakfast, refusing to look back at the pair.

"Come on, Naruto," said Sasuke stiffly. "We'd better get going, or we'll be late. Come on, Kisame."

"O--Oh, right," said Naruto. He placed the empty dishes in the dishwasher and put the leftover orange juice in the refrigerator. Keeping his head down, he followed Sasuke out of the apartment and into the elevator. It was deathly quiet in the metal box, and Naruto shuddered when he chanced a glance at Kisame and saw the shark grinning quite maliciously.

Once outside, Kisame opened the door of a limo, and Naruto and Sasuke scrambled inside. Naruto, who had never been inside a limo before, pressed every button available to see what it would do. Sasuke merely sat back with a bored expression on his face, but watched with great amusement as the blonde played around to his heart's content.

"Wow!" Naruto shrieked. "There's even drinks in here!" He picked up an empty decanter and pretended to pour something into a champagne glass. He held the empty glass out to Sasuke and sounded just like an old English butler when he said, "Your drink, sir."

Sasuke couldn't take it, and he started laughing. "Put that down, baka. You'll break it."

Naruto set the decanter and glass back in the racks before plopping back down next to Sasuke. "Do you get to do stuff like this all the time?" Naruto asked.

Sasuke nodded. "I usually get a limo to transport me to different places. It's the perk of being a model."

"Speaking of which... This has been bothering me for a while, but...I've never seen you before the movie. What sorts of magazines do you model for?"

"Oh." Sasuke's face fell. "Well, for a while, I modeled clothes for different clothing companies. I was on a wall one time for Gizas, the jacket store. I'm wearing...only a jacket. It's embarrassing."

Naruto laughed. "There's nothing embarrassing about looking good! So, is this photo shoot for Gizas, or what?"

Sasuke turned so he was looking out the window. "Not exactly. You see, recently, Itachi's been pushing for me to be more in the supermodel business. I've been in many popular magazines, but this is a shoot for...a less known magazine. I get a three page spread in... Hiroto's Progress."

Naruto's eyebrows furrowed. "That's an odd name for a magazine. I've never heard of it before."

"That's because..." Sasuke took a deep breath. Naruto could see his blush on the back of his neck and suddenly wondered if, when he blushed, you could see it over his _entire_ body. "That's because it's an... all men's magazine."

"...What?"

Sasuke's annoyed glance didn't have as much of an effect as he had hoped since the blush still coated his cheeks. "It's a gay magazine."

"Wh--Oooohhh..." Naruto blinked a few times before this fully sunk in. "But...why are you modeling in a gay mag? You're not gay, are you?"

"It's Itachi's fault," spat Sasuke, not quite ready to answer Naruto's question wholly truthfully. "He's my manager, so he controls where I model and where I don't."

"Well, then...why didn't you refuse him?"

Sasuke looked up sharply. "Can we just drop this?"

Naruto felt as if he had been cut. "Gomen, gomen, I was just curious. Speaking of which, out of curiosity...how much do you get paid for gigs like these? One thousand, two thousand yen?"

"For Hiroto's Progress? Ten million yen." (A/N: Roughly 100,000)

Naruto whistled. "Wow! That's a lot! Maybe I should be a model, too."

"I usually don't get that much... This gig is getting me over ten times more than I usually get--for the larger name magazines."

"Oh?"

"I'd rather not talk about it."

They rode the rest of the way in silence. Finally, Naruto gathered up his courage and said, "Sasuke, about last night--"

Suddenly, the door opened, and Kisame's face thrust through the entrance. "We're here." He helped Sasuke out of the limo and barely waited for Naruto to emerge before slamming the door. Naruto jumped and stayed close by Sasuke, not really trusting Kisame walking so closely behind them. They were met at the door by a lavishly dressed man who led Sasuke to the elevator, completely ignoring Naruto and Kisame.

"I'm so glad you could make it, Sasuke-kun! There was a rumor at the last minute that you might not make it. But Itachi called me this morning and promised!" He pressed the button for the fourth floor. "I'm Genjiro, by the way, assistant to Hiroto-san himself! We're very excited to have you on board, Sasuke-kun! With your face as our cover picture, we're sure to sell tons of copies!"

Sasuke shifted anxiously. "Itachi didn't say anything about a cover picture."

Genjiro laughed. "I know! He said he would keep it secret! He said you liked surprises. Ah, here we are..."

The elevator doors opened and Naruto was surprised to find himself at a beach. The wall started moving, and he was suddenly in New York City at night, looking at the skyline. "What the--?"

"Welcome to our studio!"

A garishly dressed man greeted them and introduced him as Hiroto Daitaro. The New York skyline moved, and Naruto was surprised to see about a hundred workers rushing from place to place, each shouting directions that couldn't be heard above the din. There were about ten more realistically painted backgrounds getting rolled around, each with no concrete place to stay for the moment. Naruto, who thrived in chaos, felt his head spin a little. How could Sasuke ever feel bored in a place like this?

Sasuke slipped his hand into Naruto's. He was feeling anxious and was wondering if bringing Naruto was really the best idea. There was always the possibility that he could make a break for it and run... But, no. Itachi would probably kill him…literally.

"Nice to see you again, Kisame-san," said Hiroto-san as he held out his hand. He spotted Naruto, and his eyes lit up. "And who is this dashing young man? Another bodyguard?"

Naruto shook his head. "No, I'm just a friend of Sasuke's. I'm just tagging along."

Hiroto's eyes roved up and down Naruto's body, taking in every angle, and making Naruto feel very uncomfortable. "You're absolutely gorgeous. Have you ever done modeling before?"

"Ah, no."

"Really? We might just have to fix that. What's your name?"

"Uzumaki Naruto."

"Well, it has a nice ring to it. What do you think Kisame?"

Kisame didn't answer, but the dark grin on his face spoke volumes.

"Now, Naruto-kun," said Hiroto-san as he clapped his hands and Genjiro appeared by his side. "You stay here for the time being while we find something for Sasuke to wear. In the meantime, I'll have Genjiro-san take you around the studio, show you around."

"Ah... Thank you, Hiroto-san."

Sasuke's look of anxiety deepened as he was dragged off one way by Kisame and Naruto was dragged off in the opposite direction by Genjiro. He didn't like the look on Hiroto-san's face and had the feeling he was planning something...and that Itachi was involved. And anything that Itachi was involved in spelt trouble. But Sasuke didn't have much time to dwell on the situation when he was practically attacked by the head costume designer, who introduced herself as Mayoko Fumi. She had nearly ten outfits in her hands and held each up to Sasuke, sometimes tossing articles aside or mixing and matching different items. She was also very talkative, and by the time she had finally picked out an outfit for the first background, Sasuke knew almost everything there was to know about Mayoko Fumi. Head spinning, he was shoved onto a boardwalk with the sun setting over the ocean wearing comfortably tight pants and a purple long sleeve shirt. He felt lost.

There were three different photographers, introduced as Sasawa Daisuke-san, Takao Yuuta-san, and Kanegawa Juria-san. Sasawa-san was the head photographer while the other two were his assistants. Three flashes went off, and Sasuke suddenly felt extremely self-conscious. He almost felt as if he needed to hide behind something to cover himself up. What would happen to his image when the story that he appeared in a gay magazine hit the news?

What did he care about image? Itachi was in control of his image, anyway. When had he ever been in control of his own life?

He noticed Naruto standing behind Juria-san, her bleach blonde hair rivaling his own. Naruto gave him a thumbs up, and suddenly Sasuke felt like he wanted to show off for his new crush.

"Just be yourself, Sasuke-kun," said Sasawa-san. "We want some relaxed poses for the cover."

The scene for the boardwalk was set up very intricately. It was almost as if he were _there_, with the sun setting behind him. He lounged against the railing and shot a grin in Naruto's direction, his eyes hosting a sort of "come hither" look. All three cameras snapped at once, and Sasuke was temporarily blinded by the flash. Naruto was obstructed by a dark green dot ghosting across his vision, and he missed Naruto subconsciously licking his lips.

"That was perfect, Sasuke-kun," Juria-san said, still clicking away. "Keep it up!"

Sasuke tried out several different poses, each directed toward Naruto. Afterward, he looked at several of the pictures and noticed that these looked better than any taken of him before.

"You're very pretty, Sasuke-kun," Juria-san said as she flipped through the pictures on her digital camera. "I wish I had your skin." She sighed. "I moisturize and moisturize, but I've never had fine skin."

Fumi came up to Sasuke holding a bathing suit. "I need you to change into this, Sasuke-kun, for the beach background. You can look at your sexy self later."

Naruto met up with Sasuke when he emerged from the dressing room. He was grinning. "I don't understand how you could be bored with a job like this! There's _always _something going on! Do you know where I was two seconds ago? I just had tea with _the _Hatake Kakashi! You know--Japan's number one model! Apparently, he's going to be the cover of next month's magazine, and you two are a stimulant to boost Hiroto's Progress away from being strictly a 'gay' magazine and catering toward straight females as well."

Sasuke smirked. "Is tea _all _you had with Kakashi-sama?"

Naruto was confused, completely missing the insinuation. "Well, I mean...we did have some jelly doughnuts. I can go get you some if you want... Are you hungry?"

"Not right now. Besides," Sasuke adopted a sarcastic tone, "food is the bane of a model's existence."

"Whatever, I'll go get us some pizza. You should get on that set now and"--he adopted a stereotypically gay tone--"work it!"

Sasuke shook his head before making his way to the set. Sand was sprinkled all over the ground and with the background, it really did seem as if they were at the beach. A large fan was set up to Sasuke's right so that his hair blew gently across his face.

Naruto watched as Sasuke stretched out on the ground on his stomach, his legs in the air crossed at the ankles, and his head balanced on one arm. Even though it was just a bathing suit, because it was on Sasuke's body, it looked fantastic. When Sasuke winked seductively at the camera, Naruto had to turn around, unable to watch. He went back to Kakashi-san's dressing room, breathing more heavily than normal.

However, the way Kakashi was dressed, "provocative" didn't even come close to describing it. "Naruto-kun," he said, inwardly smirking at the lust-filled glaze over his sparkling blue eyes, "can I help you with something?"

"U--Uh, yeah... I--" Naruto shook his head, trying to clear it of all sexual thoughts. When he opened his eyes, he felt a little better. "Yeah, I was wondering if I could bring some pizza to Sasuke. He should be getting hungry pretty soon."

"Pizza is the bane of--"

"--All models, yeah, I know."

"I was going to say 'pores.'" Kakashi's eyes were captivating, and Naruto didn't trust himself to say anything. The silver-haired model handed Naruto two boxes of pizza with a wink.

Naruto turned to leave but turned around, deciding to ask a question that had plagued him since he first saw the model at his debut several years ago. "Uh, Kakashi-san...why do you always wear that mask?"

"Because the mystery of what might lie underneath makes me all that more desirable. Now go bring your knight in shining armor his feast."

Naruto snorted. "Whatever, Kakashi-san."

"Catch you later, Naruto-kun."

Halfway back to Sasuke's dressing room, he passed esteemed erotic novelist Jiraya dressed only in a towel. He winked at Naruto before opening a door to one of the female model's dressing rooms. "You called...?" Naruto didn't stand around to hear the answer and practically ran the rest of the way back to Sasuke's dressing room.

Forgetting to knock, Naruto opened the door and stood in shock as he stared at Sasuke, who had been undressing and was currently nude. "O--Oh, S--Sasuke! G--Gomen, gomen, gomen! I was just bringing this pizza--"

Sasuke had quickly jumped to hide behind the dressing screen, namely to hide the blush that had coated his entire body. His secret crush had seen him naked! What was he going to do?

To his horror, Naruto didn't leave. On the contrary, he sat down at the desk and began exploring the room. "This is a nice place you've got here," said Naruto as he examined some of the furniture. "And I don't think I've ever seen so many outfits in my life!"

Sasuke slid on a pair of boxers before coming out from behind the screen, hoping his blush had faded enough where Naruto wouldn't notice it. He didn't trust himself to speak as he pulled on his next outfit. He jumped when the door opened again and Fumi-san entered the dressing room.

"Ah! Naruto-kun, there you are!" she chirruped. "Hiroto-san wants you in the next shot with Sasuke!"

Naruto pointed to himself confusedly. "What? Me? But...I'm not a model! Besides, what does he want me to do?"

Fumi winked. "It's a secret!"

"Oh."

Fumi-san tossed him an outfit that complemented the colors of Sasuke's outfit and left the room. Without hesitating and barely waiting for the door to close all the way, Naruto had already stripped down to his boxers and was pulling on the clothes. He glanced in the mirror and grimaced. "I don't need to wear any make-up, do I? And what about my hair...? I styled it this morning, but is it okay--?"

Sasuke rolled his eyes. "You sound like a girl, worrying about your hair. You're fine. Just put on a little foundation so you won't appear washed out."

Having finished getting dressed, Sasuke grabbed some face powder and quickly applied it before pulling the blonde back out into the studio. The pair found themselves back in New York City. Several spotlights were shining directly on them, but the rest of the room was dark, simulating the night. Because of the bright lights, the pair weren't able to see beyond five feet in front of their noses.

"Hiroto-saaan!!" Naruto called. "I'm ready!! What do you want me to do?"

Hiroto appeared out of the dark and said, "I just want you two to act as you normally would with each other...as boyfriends."

Naruto and Sasuke's jaws dropped.

"Wh--What?" Sasuke snapped.

"We--We're not, you know--together!" Naruto argued, waving his hands back and forth in front of him. "We're just friends!"

Hiroto's face fell. "Oh." He recovered, and the smile was back. "Well, I'm sorry for the misunderstanding, but you have to understand that you make a very cute couple--from a photographer's perspective, at the very least. Please...just humor me. Naruto-kun, I'll pay as well, of course, for your work here today."

Naruto glanced at Sasuke. "Well, how about it? You mind?"

Sasuke's heart began to beat very fast. This was his chance! Even though it was only pretend for maybe thirty minutes, he felt as if his every dream were coming true!

However, he kept his emotions in check and outwardly merely shrugged. "Sure, why not? I mean, what's the big deal?"

"That's the spirit!" chirruped Hiroto gleefully. "Now, remember, act cute!" At once, he disappeared into the darkness beyond the spotlights and cameras flashing.

Naruto rubbed the back of his head. "I'm kind of nervous. I've never done anything like this before."

"Me neither," said Sasuke breathlessly.

"..." Naruto's brow wrinkled in confusion. "I was talking about the photo shoot."

"O--Oh."

"What were you talking about?"

'Dating fantastically gorgeous men,' Sasuke thought. "Oh, I don't know. I meant...with the lights and all. I've never done a nighttime photo shoot. Here, just relax and be yourself. Pretend the cameras aren't even there."

"That's not that hard," he said, shading his eyes against the spotlight, unable to see the photographers beyond.

Sasuke laughed, and Naruto turned toward the beautiful sound, grinning. There was a flash from a camera to their right, perfectly capturing the moment. Naruto blushed. "I wasn't ready!" he called.

"Just be yourself," Sasuke whispered, taking hold of Naruto's hands. "Don't look at the cameras. Only look at me."

There was a spark between them when their eyes met, neither able to look away, black obsidian meeting ocean cerulean. Naruto wouldn't have been able to stop himself even if he wanted to as his eyes slid closed and his lips moved forward, meeting Sasuke's halfway. He paid no attention to what seemed like one hundred cameras going off at once as his hands wrapped around Sasuke's waist and pulled until their bodies were flesh against one another. Sasuke entwined his fingers into those golden locks and held on for dear life.

Sasuke gasped when he felt a small nip at his lower lip, and Naruto's tongue gleefully slid inside. It was met by Sasuke's, and the two appendages massaged one another. Sasuke began grinding into Naruto, who moaned and tried his best to tongue-fuck the slightly shorter man.

"While this is definitely something erotic," came Sasawa-san's bemused voice, "we don't have a whole lot of time left, and I would appreciate it if you two tried some different...poses."

Naruto and Sasuke broke apart, both blushing deeply. Sasuke tried to take charge of the situation, trying to ignore the arousal coursing through his body. 'It's just a photo shoot,' he told himself, willing his erection to die down. 'We're just friends...'

"Uh, poses..." Sasuke realized he had never been in a photo shoot with another person and quickly tried to think up some poses. "Uh, here, stand behind me and put your arms around my shoulders--"

Juria-san came out of the shadows and fixed up the pose a little. "No, put your arms like this, Sasuke, and Naruto, you need to _relax_! You're stiffer than a plank of wood!"

Naruto's own plank of wood was rather stiff, which was why he was so rigid. If he stood the way Juria-san wanted him to, his erection would be pressed directly against Sasuke's ass. He would _die _if Sasuke knew the kiss had made him hard! He could almost imagine Sasuke running out of the studio, shouting things like, "Pervert!" and, "We're no longer friends!"

However, when Juria hit him in the side of the head for not relaxing, he gave in. Sasuke tensed up for a moment when he felt Naruto pressed into him, but with one warning glance from Juria, he relaxed, too.

"Now, Naruto-kun," Juria continued, "place your lips lightly against Sasuke's neck--like that, yeah." She backed up beyond their range of sight and took a picture.

Sasuke leaned into the warmth that was Naruto, falling for him fast. He closed his eyes as Naruto used his lips and tongue to caress his neck and jaw softly. He reached around behind him and pulled Naruto even closer. A soft moan escaped his lips as Naruto ground softly into him.

"Aaaand scene!" Juria called.

The two boys snapped back to reality, and Naruto took a quick step backward. Sasuke felt very cold once the warmth was gone. The lights came on, and they felt very uncomfortable making eye contact with anyone.

"Very good work, boys!" Hiroto called, approaching them. "Naruto-kun, you're a natural at modeling! Here's my card. I'll call you. Sasuke, we want a few more pictures, but I think we've already kept you long enough. Can you come back tomorrow?"

Sasuke nodded, not trusting himself to speak.

"What about you, Naruto-kun?"

"What? Oh, I, uh... Actually, I can't make it tomorrow. I have to work. I work all day, every day until Friday."

"What a shame..." Hiroto shook their hands before excusing himself. "I have another group of people coming in in another hour, and I have to get this set ready. You understand, of course. I'll see you tomorrow, Sasuke-kun, Kisame-san."

Naruto and Sasuke didn't say a word to each other all the way back to the apartments. Kisame, on the other hand, was quite chatty. He had the partition up so the two boys couldn't hear his conversation over the phone with Itachi. He relayed every detail that had taken place to the elder Uchiha. Itachi listened with cold amusement as he began plotting his younger brother's demise.

"Perfect," he said, cackling. "Everything is going perfectly! My brother has completely fallen for that moron, which means he'll fall even harder when I take him away."

Phew! I wrote this entire thing on WordPad! You know why? Because I'm cheap! My trial version of Microsoft Office ended like a week ago and I've been too lazy to run down to Wal-Mart and pick up a copy. I was going to grab a copy while I was in Tallahassee at the FSU bookstore (because it was like 60 as opposed to 100, plus I had a coupon!), but they were all sold out. Booo!! Never write on WordPad. It sucks. Once you go spell check, you never go back.

Fun little side story: I modeled Naruto in the limo after my friend Ben and the…well, about twentieth time he'd ever been on a charter bus. The second he sat down, he pushed every button in sight (including the ones in front of us, behind us, across from us…) for nearly ten minutes before I finally grabbed him and made him sit still. :) Oh, and then I was with him the first time he had ever been in a limo, but we both pushed every button. And, like Naruto, I picked up the empty decanters and pretended to get drunk. It was pretty amazing. :)

Soooo... Reviews? Anyone? Pwease? :)


	4. Dango Sticks and Lollipops

So, I finally got off my lazy ass and purchased Microsoft Office. MSWord is soooo much freakin' better than WordPad. Not even kidding, WordPad crushed my writing soul. :( Hehe, and thanks for all your sympathies and suggestions on alternate software! :)

Oh, and because everyone's asking, I've decided to answer questions about Itachi. I personally think Itachi's adorable…minus the whole "killing his entire family" thing. However, in this fic, Itachi's a bit of a hardass bitch…for a while, anyway. But don't worry, Itachi-lovers! You'll get your moment!! It just…won't be for a looooooong time… :(

Thanks so much to all of my lovely, lovely, wonderful reviewers. :) Hehe, I loved reading everyone's theories on what's going to happen. :) Some of you hit it right on the head, but others…were rather off. And sometimes you would start out right and then end horribly wrong. It was rather amusing. :) Oh, and no, I'm not telling you if you were right or wrong…but keep guessing away! Actually, I picked up a few more ideas from some of you… :) Anyway, thanks to Alicefreak, Black Midnight Sky, rosekyo, MarinaDelRay, inner evil, StunningSpellRocks2345, dragonfire04, Lybe (hehe, I got your IOU for the list of foods. :D My stomach's so excited!!), mickey8701, skyinthenightslove, sarin, charmpit, ItaNaruLover, ninetailedseraph23 (I'm sorry I kept you up all night. :( …That actually sounded incredibly dirty. :O), Anonymous Sister of the Author, and hunni C A K E!! You guys mean the world to me!! :)

_Chapter 4: Dango Sticks and Lollipops_

Naruto woke up in a daze. He had dreamt he was still at the photo shoot, and when he woke up, he thought he was still there. "Sasuke?" he called, glancing around for his dark-haired beauty before realizing he was in his apartment. He wrapped himself around his body pillow, wishing it would turn into Sasuke when he finally noticed what had woken him up in the first place. He turned off his alarm clock and groaned, wishing he didn't have to go into work today, sad that he wouldn't be able to see his crush until at least Saturday.

'Well, at least I can always text him,' Naruto thought to himself as he rolled out of bed and made his way to the shower.

In all honesty, Naruto was worried about him. Not only had they not said anything about their moment of passion, they sure as hell couldn't blame it on the photo shoot. There had been a definite spark between the two of them...or was he wishing too hard? Sasuke was a fashion model. Had he done those sorts of things before, where he passionately kissed someone else? He had acted so calmly...and there was that scene in _Insomniac's Dream _where Sasuke had kissed the love interest...

But that was just a movie! This was real life! They had kissed on the bench in the park, right?

'But, Sasuke was in a vulnerable state. Besides, he fell asleep right after. Does he even _remember_ the kiss?'

Moody and depressed, he finished his shower, got dressed, ate breakfast, and headed off to work.

Next door, Sasuke was having similar thoughts. He had been kept up for several hours listening to Itachi and Kisame's screams and the bed pounding against the wall. Even though it was his brother, listening to such passionate sounds had made his cock jump. Feeling guilty, he ended up brooding on the back porch until nearly three in the morning, finally deeming it "safe" to head back indoors.

He rubbed the sleep from his eyes and let his mind drift to the photo shoot from the previous day. Why had he let himself get so carried away like that? Naruto was only kissing him because of the shoot...right? Or...was there something more...?

'No!' he chastised himself. 'I _won't _fall for Naruto! We're just _friends_! ...He's my _only _friend. I can't ruin that.'

Suddenly, he was worried. Did Naruto really have to work today, or was he just saying that because he was so disgusted with the kiss that he made up that excuse? But...at breakfast, he had told Itachi that he had to work, too...

"Ahh! I'm so confused!"

There was a knock on the bathroom door and Itachi called in to him. "Sasuke-kun, are you okay in there?"

"Ah! Hai!" He had dropped the bar of soap in his surprise, and when he went to grab it, he elbowed the bottle of shampoo balanced precariously on the side of the shower. The shampoo hit the conditioner, which hit the liquid soap...and all the bottles came toppling down into the shower.

"Are you sure you're okay?"

"F--Fine!" Sasuke called back, picking up the bottles.

"Maybe you should stick to touching yourself in the bedroom, little brother."

"I wasn't--" But Sasuke knew there was no point, that Itachi had already moved away from the bathroom door. He sighed, rinsed off, and climbed out of the shower. He spent several extra minutes on his hair, trying out a different style for today's photo shoot. He threw on whatever, knowing that it wouldn't matter since he would change once he got there anyway.

Sasuke passed Kyuubi Bookstore thinking nothing of it, not even giving it a glance. However, inside the bookstore, Naruto was in the back room gathering up a box of books to be shelved. He entered the main part of the shop just after Sasuke's limo passed.

The bell above the store tinkled, and Naruto looked up in time to see Gaara enter.

"You're late!" Naruto growled. "Ten minutes ago, when _you _were supposed to be here, I was completely swamped! There were like five people waiting in line, each with like ten books!"

Gaara shrugged. "Temari was being a total bitch this morning and wouldn't get her ass out of the shower, and Kankuro was applying his make up in the other bathroom...and like hell I'd take a shower in front of _him_, the bastard." He grabbed a stack of books from the box and started placing them on the shelves.

Naruto laughed. "It still cracks me up that Kankuro does those plays for little kids. He doesn't seem like that kind of guy."

"I think it's just because he gets a kick out of wearing makeup, the transvestite," Gaara mumbled.

"Kankuro's not a transvestite!" Naruto giggled. "...Is he?"

"Sa ne?"

The bell tinkled once more above the shop, and Sakura entered. Naruto groaned and tried to hide behind one of the shelves, but Sakura spotted him immediately.

"Gaara, could you give us a minute?" Sakura asked sharply as she stormed over to Naruto. Usually, Gaara would have retaliated with a death glare and stayed where he damn well pleased, but Sakura was in one of her moods, and he wasn't keen on having his eardrums blown out so early in the morning. With a quick "fuck you" glance in Sakura's direction, he headed into the back room, intending to make some coffee to make this day a little less hellish.

"Yes, Sakura?" Naruto asked sweetly. "What can I do for you?"

"You promised you'd go on a date with me!" she huffed.

"Oh." His face fell. Going on a date with Sakura meant less time he'd be able to spend with Sasuke. He already couldn't see the porcelain beauty for more than a few hours for another five days because of work; he wasn't about to make it six. Damn! Why did he have to say he'd work the hell hours Monday through Friday the first week after school let out?! Oh yeah... To pay his rent... "Well, I have to work through Friday, Sakura-chan," he answered.

"What the hell is wrong with you?" Sakura seethed. "I admit that I didn't used to like you, but you've always had the biggest crush on me! Now that I've started to like you back, it's like I don't even exist! You even replaced yourself with Lee for our last date!"

"How did that go, by the way?"

"Really well, Naruto, but that's not the point! Just tell me why treating me so coldly, and I'll leave you alone!"

Naruto sighed, wondering how he could ever get himself out of this mess. He couldn't very well tell Sakura that he developed a crush on Sasuke. First, she would pummel him for loving someone else (even though they weren't even technically a couple!), and then she would tell everyone she met. Within the hour, Sasuke would know of Naruto's feelings and would never speak to him again. His heart would break if he could never see his raven again...

"Well?" Sakura prompted, her voice dangerously low.

Naruto placed his hands on Sakura's shoulders. "The truth is, I did used to like you--a lot. But lately, my crush has been fading. I still like you as a friend, and I'm sorry I stopped liking you like that when you started liking me. But--Lee's a great guy, and he really loves you! If you give him a chance, I know you'll be great together!"

Naruto knew Sakura would be angry, but he hadn't expected the slap across the face. Honestly! She didn't even really care whether or not Naruto liked her; she just didn't want the attention drawn away from her.

"Uzumaki Naruto," she shouted, "you are a lousy piece of shit, and I can't believe I ever loved you. I'm breaking up with you!"

"But...we were never together," said Naruto, confused.

Sakura looked scandalized, and she turned on her heel and stormed from the bookstore.

Gaara emerged from the back room with two cups of coffee. He handed the one loaded with cream and sugar to Naruto, keeping the naked one for himself. "Don't worry about it," the redhead said as he sipped his coffee. "She feels guilty because she fucked bowl cut when she was supposed to be liking you. It's just girl drama. Don't worry about it."

"Thanks, Gaara," Naruto mumbled before drinking half the coffee in one gulp. "I'll never understand women."

"Then don't worry about them," he said. He grabbed Naruto by the front of his shirt and kissed him. When they broke apart, Naruto was giggling, but Gaara was licking his lips thoughtfully. "You taste different," he remarked.

Naruto held up the coffee he miraculously hadn't spilt. "Yeah, like cream and sugar."

Gaara shook his head. "No, it's something...deeper. Like someone else."

Naruto blushed as he remembered the previous day he had spent with Sasuke and, more specifically, Sasuke's mouth. "Oh?" he said, trying to feign innocence. Gaara eyed him curiously but thankfully didn't say anything else, although Naruto had a feeling that Gaara knew exactly what was going on.

Luckily for Naruto, the bell tinkled above the shop and in walked an actual customer. It was a high school student looking for a specific book, and Naruto spent the better part of five minutes helping him locate the book and, more importantly, avoiding Gaara.

By the time Naruto's shift ended, he was exhausted. Even though it was only seven o'clock, after grabbing a quick dinner at Ichiraku Ramen, he went home and collapsed on his bed. Right before he fell asleep, he remembered that he forgot to text Sasuke, so he pulled out his phone and texted, "Hey, Sasuke! I just got home. I worked from nine to seven today--ten loooong fucking hours. I'm beat, though, so I'm going to go to bed." He waited for a few minutes to see if Sasuke would text back but ended up falling asleep almost immediately.

The next morning, Naruto had ten missed texts. Six were from Temari from Gaara's cell. She got a kick out of stealing her brother's phone and sending him the strangest texts. He scrolled through them, laughing hysterically. In this bout of texts, she was trying to convince Naruto that she, or really Gaara, was pregnant. The fifth message proclaimed that her (or his, as she was trying to convince Naruto) water had broke. The sixth message was undoubtedly Gaara: "Temari's a bitch."

Three texts were from Kiba asking for relationship advice. By the third text, however, he had already answered his own question.

The last text was from Sasuke. Naruto felt his heart speed up as he clicked to open it.

"Sorry you had to work so much. What are your hours tomorrow? Can I come see you?"

Naruto let out a silent cheer before texting back. "Hey, I just woke up. I have the same hours today. I work at Kyuubi Bookstore. Feel free to visit if you want, but it's pretty boring."

Checking his clock, he jumped and hurried into the shower. He threw on his clothes, grabbed a granola bar for breakfast, and ran out the door. He arrived at the store two minutes before nine. Gaara was already there.

"I've been here since open," Gaara growled. "Take the register, I'm going out to get some fucking breakfast."

Stomach growling with only a measly granola bar, Naruto pouted, wishing that he, too, could have gone out to grab a real breakfast. Instead, he checked his cell phone, delighted to see another text from Sasuke.

"When's your lunch break? I'll come visit you then."

Naruto punched his fist in the air excitedly. Sasuke _wanted _to visit! How incredible!! "I have a half hour break at one. I'll meet you at Akimichi Bakery."

A minute later, his phone vibrated with Sasuke's single, "Okay." He jumped up and danced a little jig. Gaara reentered the shop with a "to go" bag and looked at Naruto like he was from another planet.

"What are you doing?"

Naruto ran around to Gaara and pulled him into a hug before kissing him firmly. He broke the kiss and said, "I think I'll make some coffee," before skipping into the back room.

Gaara merely shook his head, having experienced stranger things in the presence of the blonde, and started eating his breakfast.

Sasuke couldn't decide between the red T-shirt or the blue silk button-down. The red shirt didn't scream "Please fuck me here and now!" as loudly, but the blue one...well, it did. Thinking back to the kisses they had shared, he decided to be a little less forward for the time being and chose the T-shirt. He spent an extra long time with his hair, but once he had finished, he knew he looked irresistible.

He walked into the kitchen and was pouring himself a bowl of cereal when Itachi walked in.

"You look nice today," Itachi said dangerously, "but that shirt... If you're trying to fuck that idiot blonde, I can lend you something that will have him begging to be under you."

Sasuke paled. "Eh... Iie, thank you, aniki. I'm not trying to fuck Naruto."

Itachi laughed. "You don't have to lie to me, little brother. Kisame told me everything about what happened at the photo shoot..."

Sasuke tried to play innocent. "Nothing happened. It was a photo shoot. Hiroto-san is paying me a lot of money, and he made a job offer with Naruto, too. We were merely giving him what he wanted."

Itachi studied him for a long time, and Sasuke tried to remain as expressionless as possible. Finally, Itachi relented. "Fine, little brother. You can lie to me, but just remember: you can't lie to yourself."

"I have to go now." Not quite knowing where to go, but knowing he had to get out of the house as quickly as possible, he left. He was planning on forgoing a bodyguard for the day, but before he had even made it up the street, he glanced behind his shoulder and saw Kisame following him. Gritting his teeth, he resigned himself to having a babysitter. And because it was Kisame, it was almost like he hadn't left his house at all, that Itachi was still following him.

Sasuke decided to explore the city to kill time before his lunch date with Naruto. Heads turned as he passed, and Sasuke could see them trying to work out in their heads where they had seen him before. For the most part, he kept his head down and trudged onward.

He ended up in downtown Konoha and explored several of the local shops. He was thankful Kisame was with him when he entered Yamanaka Flowers and Bouquets and was nearly mauled by the blonde girl who was working. She called herself Uchiha Ino, as she had apparently pledged she would marry the young model, and had already created hypothetical children for the both of them. Kisame ended up having to knock her out, and he and Sasuke quickly exited the store.

Sasuke entered Akimichi Bakery a few minutes early and watched as Naruto exited Kyuubi Bookstore and walked across the street. The blonde's face lit up when he saw Sasuke already waiting with a sandwich and a frappuchino. Naruto gave him a quick hug before going to order his own lunch. Sasuke turned his smile toward the window, not wanting to give Kisame the pleasure of telling Itachi how happy the blonde made him.

"So, what have you done today?" Naruto asked before devouring his own sandwich.

Sasuke shrugged. "Not much. Just walked around town."

"Did you go by Anko's Sweet Shop? The food pales in comparison to the food here, but she makes things out of dango sticks and puts then on display in her window. Not even kidding, that woman eats a freakin' lot of dango! I think right now she's got an entire castle made out of dango sticks. When they've been on display for a week, there's a silent auction, and whoever has the highest bet by the end of the day, she sells it to them. I bought a fox a few months ago. I'll show it to you one day!"

"Yeah, I think I passed it," said Sasuke. "Was that right next to Yamanaka--?"

"You didn't go in there, did you?" Naruto asked suddenly, paling. "Ino's working today, and she has the biggest crush on you. She would have probably kidnapped you and put you in her basement or something." Naruto laughed, and Sasuke was suddenly glad he had had Kisame with him. "Where else did you go?"

Sasuke thought back, trying to remember exactly where. "TenTen Weapon Emporium..."

"Oh! That's always fun!"

"Umm... That shop that sells honey... Aburame's Honey? Oh, and I stopped by Inuzuka's Pet Shop and saw Kiba."

"Was Akamaru there?" Naruto asked.

"Yeah. Oh, and then I went into a clothing store, and the girl who was working there...Temari? She introduced herself as Gaara's sister."

Naruto grinned. "Isn't Temari a babe? Don't tell Gaara I said that, though. He'd kill me. Did you go anywhere else? Or did you spend all that time hitting on Temari?"

Sasuke laughed. "No, I didn't stay in there too long. I spent most of my time with Kiba because every time I tried to leave, Akamaru would grab onto my pants and make me pet him some more."

"Oh, yeah, he does that. He's sort of a spoiled bitch."

Another laugh. Sasuke couldn't understand why the blonde had this much sway over his emotions. Before meeting Naruto, he never laughed, but now...he was laughing over nothing. It was just that, when he was with Naruto, everything sort of...fell into place. Everything was so right...

"Sasuke? Saaasuke! Hey! Earth to Sasuke!"

Sasuke jerked back to reality, having been staring at Naruto for at least a minute. "Wha--? Oh, I must have...dozed off."

Naruto crossed his arms and nodded sagely. "It's all that modeling you're doing. Too much stress. Maybe you should take a break." He opened his eyes, and his face lit up. "Hey! You're not doing anything Saturday, are you?"

Sasuke tried to cover up the sudden enormous grin that broke across his face by taking a quick bite of his sandwich. "Nope, my day's totally free. Why?"

"Then let's hang out all day on Saturday!!" Naruto had stood up and practically exploded as he shouted this for the world to hear. Every person for nearly a mile around turned their heads toward the source of the sound.

"Sure thing," Sasuke answered in a normal tone of voice, but sounding more like a whisper against Naruto's outburst.

"Great!!" Naruto sat back down in his seat and quickly finished the rest of his lunch. "Look, I've got to get back to work now, but on Saturday, why don't you spend the night? I mean, I know we live right next door, but...I mean, it could be fun. That is, if you want to." Naruto started to look worried when Sasuke didn't say anything at first.

"I'd--That'd be great," Sasuke answered before hiding his grin behind his frappuchino.

"I'll come wake you up Saturday morning, then." Naruto threw his trash away and said, "Oh, make sure you visit Anko's Sweet Shop on your way home. If you tell her I sent you, she might give you something for free." He winked and left.

Sasuke stayed at the bakery for another half an hour sipping his frappuchino and keeping the image of Naruto firmly in his mind, refusing to let him go.

As Naruto had suggested, Sasuke stopped by Anko's Sweet Shop. He was greeted by a pretty woman whose personality reminded him a lot of Naruto's. She immediately pointed out the homemade dango and requested that he bring back his (washed) dango sticks so she could create more art. It was then that Sasuke took a good look at the display in the window. It was a very large castle, and there was such detail that Sasuke could almost imagine people living inside.

"Did you make this?" Sasuke asked breathlessly, wondering how many dango sticks were needed to make it.

Anko laughed. "Well, yes and no. I did contribute most of the dango sticks, and I made the framework of the castle, but this was one of my collaboration projects. Asuma-san, who runs the convenience store down the road, and Kurenai-san, who owns the movie theater, helped me with the detail work. Otherwise it would have taken me another three months to complete." She laughed again.

'How does she eat all that dango and still stay so _thin_?' he found himself wondering. He saw the silent auction page, and his eyes nearly popped out of his head when he saw the most recent bet. Even if her sweets weren't any good and no one bought them, the money made off of these dango stick creations were more than enough to keep her little shop open.

"Want to make a bet?" she asked, holding up a pen.

"Er, maybe next time. I wouldn't have anywhere to put it. It's so big." (A/N: That's what she said!! ...Or _he _said... Mmm...)

"Well, you can't leave until you buy some sweets at least." Sasuke suddenly felt that she wasn't kidding, that she might even hurt him. She pointed at Kisame and said dangerously, "That includes you, too."

Sasuke and Kisame forked over nearly half the bills in their wallets before Anko was happy and left the shop loaded down with sweets. Tentatively, Sasuke took a bite of dango and realized it was actually pretty good. He stopped at the edge of the sweet shop when Kisame grabbed his shoulder.

"Don't go this way," Kisame warned, pointing to the flower shop. "That girl might try to kill us."

Sasuke nodded but didn't know any other way home. He would ask Anko, but he was afraid she would make him buy more sweets in exchange for directions. He glanced over his shoulder and decided that he could always go ask Naruto...

He finished the dango and pulled a lollipop out of his bag as he arrived back at Kyuubi Bookstore.

Gaara looked up when the bell above the shop tinkled; his heart stopped. The sun hit the top pane of glass in a way that framed Sasuke perfectly, creating an angelic glow. The lollipop stick dangling from his mouth brought to mind both the innocence of childhood as well as what other delicious things one could wrap their lips around. Sasuke had a hat drawn low over his eyes so he wouldn't be as recognizable, but Gaara could still see those gorgeous black depths when they caught the light. His hands were stuffed in the pockets of his deliciously tight jeans, and his red T-shirt clung perfectly to his body, showing off his vague shadows of muscles.

"Can I help you?" Gaara asked, moving behind the counter to hide his growing erection.

Naruto emerged from the back room just as Sasuke slid the lollipop from between his lips with a nice, wet "pop!" Both Naruto and Gaara stifled a groan.

"Yeah, I was wondering if I could get directions back to my apartment that doesn't bring me past Yamanaka's."

Naruto laughed. "Isn't Ino psychotic? I mean, she's usually calm when nothing's going on, but if she sees something she wants, she'll stop at nothing to get it. But, you know Chidori Drive? It's right before Anko's. Just take a left there and hang a right on Rasengan Way. Follow that all the way to Kage Bunshin Street, and it'll come out right in front of the apartments."

Sasuke pulled the lollipop back out from between his lips to say, "Arigatou."

Naruto nodded. "No problem." He turned and went back into the back room. If he were in the presence of this sex god for one more second, it would be very difficult to keep himself from jumping him.

"So...Sasuke," said Gaara, sidling out from behind the counter once Naruto had disappeared. "Blondie has to work tomorrow, but I'm not busy, if you're not doing anything...if you want someone to hang out with."

Sasuke eyed Gaara curiously. He couldn't quite figure out Gaara's personality and motives. He seemed to be a completely different person when he was around Naruto, and some of what Temari had said made him feel a little uncomfortable. Then again, Temari was his sister, and siblings are a little biased.

"Don't worry," Gaara said, amused at how Sasuke was sizing him up. "I won't bite." He was standing right in front of Sasuke now, mere millimeters away.

Sasuke felt a chill run down his spine, and he wasn't sure whether it was a pleasant or unpleasant one. Not being able to tell made him very, very nervous. "Uh, thank you, Gaara. I really appreciate it."

"Then it's a date!" said Gaara with a wink. "I'll pick you up at your apartment around noon?"

Sasuke was suddenly very nervous at the word "date." Even if they were just friends, he felt almost like he was cheating on Naruto. "Uh, yeah, that's fine. Let me give you directions..."

"I know where you live," said Gaara with a chuckle. "Right next to Naru-kun, right?"

"Oh, yeah."

Gaara placed his palm on Sasuke's stomach and leaned forward until there was barely a paper's width between their lips. "Don't be so nervous, Sasuke-kun. Relax." And suddenly he was gone, back behind the register as if nothing had happened. "Do you want me to write down the directions for you, or do you have them memorized?"

Sasuke blinked, not really sure what to think about Gaara's advances. "I--I think I've forgotten them..."

With a sharp laugh and a dark grin, Gaara wrote out the directions. At the bottom, he wrote his phone number. "In case you ever get lonely," he purred. When he noticed Sasuke's expression, he started laughing again. "_Relax_, Sasuke! Don't worry. I won't try anything."

"Why not?" Even though that statement caused him to relax a little, Sasuke wasn't used to this kind of response. He was more used to Ino's reaction than anything else.

Gaara was confused. "I mean, unless you want me to..."

"Ah! No, that's not what I meant...! It's just I'm used to--stalker-like reactions."

Gaara shrugged. "I'm not a stalker, if that's what you're wondering."

"I didn't think you were."

The silence that followed was tense and awkward. Sasuke was glad that Naruto chose that moment to come back into the room. "Sasuke, you're still here?"

"Yeah, Gaara was just asking me on a--asking if I wanted to hang out tomorrow." Sasuke didn't know why, but he didn't want to say the word "date" in front of Naruto.

"Oh, that's cool!" Naruto chirruped. "Gaara's great to hang out with, once you can get him to come out of his shell. He's usually a bitch to people when he first meets them, but deep down he's really nice."

Gaara stuck out his tongue. "Whatever, baka."

"Er, bye." Sasuke left the store and followed the directions back to the apartment. He bypassed Itachi and went straight to his room. He locked his door and threw himself on the bed. Today had been...weird, to say the least. What was up with Gaara hitting on him and then saying he wouldn't "try anything?" Was he _going _to try something? He was going to call and cancel, but...if Gaara said he wasn't going to try anything... Besides, maybe he could ask Gaara some questions about Naruto.

He went over to his beanbag chair and turned on his television, flipping randomly through the channels. Itachi knocked on his door around six o'clock, announcing dinner. He wasn't very hungry but decided it was better to appease Itachi by eating. He forced down his dinner and then retreated back to his room where he lay on his bed before falling into a fitful doze.

Ugh, I'm trying to make these chapters really really really long -- like 50 pages long! --  but I can't seem to make it past seven or eight. :( In my defense, though, that's longer than my usual chapters! I think as this story starts taking off, though, the chapters will start getting longer. I hope so! Anything less than ten is actually sort of depressing...

Oh, and the scene with Sasuke in the shower, where he knocks everything over…not even kidding, that happens to me like friggin' every time I take a shower. :( My sister's home right now, so there's twice as much girl shower-ness in there, so I'm, like, _surrounded _by shampoo. Honestly, it would be a miracle if I _didn't _knock anything over.


	5. Konoha Zoo

This chapter starts a little bit of Gaara/Sasuke, which is important to the plot and will be more prominent later on in the story...but don't worry! This is a NaruSas fic, and it will (eventually) turn out that way!

Thanks so so so so so very much to my lovely reviewers: Alicefreak, Lybe (Thanks again for the food combos!! :D), drarythoughts (I love random reviews, so it's okay :D), skyinthenightslove, rosekyo, cadywise, charmpit (A threesome _might _be in the making…but I'm not telling. :D), Jade Rose, ItaNaruLover, ninetailedfoxx852, hisoka kurosaki, and Rose Kitsune!! Thank you guys so much!! :D Oh, and I don't bite. :) If you ever want to contact me, I'm perfectly okay with that. I love making new friends. :)

Oh, and I'm glad to know I'm not the only one who knocks everything over in the shower, haha. :)

_Chapter 5: Konoha Zoo_

Sasuke woke up the next morning a lot later than he normally did. Even then, he stayed in his bed staring up at the ceiling until nearly 11 o'clock. The only reason he got up then was because Itachi came in his room and said, "Nothing will get done if you just stay in here brooding all day. Get up, little brother."

"Hai...Aniki."

He finished getting reading and taking a shower in under twenty minutes. He was watching cartoons when there was a knock on his door. To his horror, it was Itachi who answered the door. Itachi smirked down at the scowling redhead. "May I help you?"

Gaara didn't look threatening at all wearing overalls with a sea foam green shirt that clung to his body stopping just above his waist and showing off quite a bit of skin, but the look he sent Itachi could have caused Hell to freeze over. "I'm here for Sasuke," he said icily.

Itachi's eyes narrowed a fraction of an inch, but he showed no other outward signs of annoyance. "Stay here. I'll get him."

Ignoring the command, Gaara sidled past Itachi before the door closed. "That's all right, Uchiha-san. I can get him."

A low growl sounded in Itachi's throat and his eyes took on a reddish hue. If it weren't for the second knock on the door, he might have tried his best to tear Gaara limb from limb. He threw the door open with enough force to tear it off its hinges, promising death to whomever was on the other side.

"Whoa, calm down, Itachi!" Kisame said defensively, holding up his hands. "Who tied a knot in your panties?"

Itachi glowered at Gaara, who looked up at the two innocently.

Sasuke rounded the corner and took Gaara's hand, leading him out the door. "Bye, aniki. I might be home late."

"What a bitch," murmured Gaara once they were safely outside. "How can you live with him?" Kisame put a threatening hand on his shoulder, but Gaara merely swept it aside.

Inside, Sasuke was rolling on the ground laughing. No one had ever acted this way in front of Itachi and Kisame before. Most people crawled in a corner and tried not to pee themselves--and no one had ever survived without a scratch when Itachi's eyes turned that color.

"He must have been working on one of his plays," Sasuke explained. "He hates it when people interrupt his 'artistic mood.'"

Gaara rolled his eyes. "I've read some of his works, and I even saw the original _Insomniac's Dream_ when it was still just a little play. He has a right to be upset; he needs as few interruptions as possible to keep his writing from becoming _complete _shit."

"You didn't like them?"

"Have you read them?" Gaara laughed dryly. "No, I've found better literature in a public restroom." He looked over his shoulder at the glowering Kisame. "I know you're going to tell Itachi. Go ahead. I'll even write it down, if you want me to, and you can quote me verbatim."

"Come on, Gaara," said Sasuke, shifting nervously under Kisame's death glare. "Where are we going first?"

"To visit Naruto, of course, to make fun of him because he has to work and we don't."

Sasuke's heart sped up. He would get to see Naruto today!

When they entered the bookstore, there were several other people in the store as well as another worker. Naruto waved enthusiastically and rang up the customers as fast as he could. Gaara walked up to the tall employee and tapped him on the shoulder.

"Kimimaro, this is Sasuke," Gaara said, introducing the white-haired man.

"It's nice to meet you." Kimimaro had a soft, velvety voice, and he moved like water when he reached out to shake Sasuke's hand. "I've heard a lot about you, from Naruto."

Sasuke blushed.

"Don't worry, it was all good things. Very good things."

Sasuke's blush deepened. He suddenly resented being so pale, the practically translucent skin showing the slightest sign of a blush.

Naruto had finally finished with the customers, and the store was empty again. He pulled Sasuke into a deep hug. "Hey! What's up? Gaara keeping you company?"

Sasuke nodded, unable to say anything with his face buried in Naruto's jacket. If anyone else had ever pulled him in a hug like this, he would have pushed them away, but it was different with Naruto. He felt warm, he felt safe, in those strong arms of his, pressed up against that broad chest, breathing his scent.

Naruto let him go and asked Gaara, "So, where are you planning on taking him today?"

"Your favorite place," Gaara smirked.

Naruto glared. "Teme!! How dare you go to the zoo without me! And Tuesday's the day they have the special panda exhibit! Boo, you whore!" Naruto started laughing. "You're going to take him to meet Kankuro, aren't you?"

"Who's Kankuro?" Sasuke asked.

"He's Gaara's older brother," Naruto answered. "He does this show for kids and gets hired out by different companies. The zoo has him booked Tuesdays and Thursdays from now until, like...forever. But, I've seen Kankuro's show, and it's actually pretty good. There's interaction and movement and colors and damn it, Gaara, I want to go to the zoo!!"

"...Are we really going to the zoo?" Sasuke asked skeptically.

"Oh, you haven't _lived _until you've been to Konoha Zoo!" Naruto practically shouted.

"Naruto!" Kimimaro said sharply. "Get your butt to that register!"

Naruto looked up and noticed the long queue of people. "Ah! Gomen, gomen! I didn't hear anyone come in!" He dashed over to the register, and Gaara took Sasuke by the wrist and led him out of the store.

"Have fun, you two," Kimimaro called after them.

"It's like that all the time in there," Gaara explained, letting go of Sasuke. "There will be no one for hours and hours and then it's suddenly packed. Come on, we've got to take the bus. The zoo's a few miles out of the downtown area."

Gaara paid for their bus tickets. As the bus rumbled down the street, Sasuke watched Kyuubi Bookstore get smaller and smaller until it was finally out of sight.

Gaara waited until several seats were filled between them and Kisame. When a baby started crying, Gaara all but whispered, "You love him, don't you?"

Sasuke jumped. "Well, I wouldn't say love--"

Gaara rolled his eyes. "Fine. You 'like him a lot,' don't you?"

A sad sort of smile crossed Sasuke's lips. "Do you often ask questions to which you already know the answer?"

Gaara smirked. "So, will you have time to come back to the store and visit Naru-kun tomorrow, too?"

Sasuke shook his head. "No, I'm going on a mini-vacation tomorrow to Otogakure. I'm starring in a new movie, _The Seven Suns_, and filming starts tomorrow. I'll be back Friday evening."

"In time to hang out with Naruto on Saturday?"

"...I was supposed to stay in Otogakure until next Monday." He turned and met Gaara's eyes. "Answer me truthfully, please. Am I really that pathetic?"

Gaara sat back in his seat and closed his eyes. "There's a scene in _Insomniac's Dream_, the play, that was changed for the movie. Hatori, your character, was not supposed to hook up with the love interest, Nanako. Instead, in the ending, instead of them finally meeting up, Hatori falls into a deep, dreamless sleep--the first time he's slept fully and soundly in several years. He doesn't wake up--ever again. It's a much more poetic ending, but too powerful for a cinematic event." He opened his eyes. "Naruto's like that--he doesn't run by the script. That's why he has such a powerful pull, that's why people fall in love with him...some more so than others."

"Gaara," Sasuke asked quietly, "are you...are you in love with Naruto?"

"Of course." Neither Gaara's tone nor facial expressions changed in the slightest. "But never in the same way that you love him. Naruto's more like a brother to me; more so, in fact, than my own brother." He sighed and closed his eyes once more. "I'm much like your character, Hatori. I can't sleep. I've tried everything from drugs to hypnotherapy, but I can never stay asleep for more than two hours at a time. When I met Naruto, however, I was finally able to sleep. I mean, it's usually only four or five hours, but...it's an improvement." His eyes slid open and he glanced sideways at Sasuke. "I suppose his personality is just that exhausting."

Sasuke felt his smile slide into a position it had never been in before--the smile of one who is truly, undoubtedly in love.

The bus stopped, and Gaara stood up. "Well, this is our stop."

-

Sasuke stood staring at the kangaroos, thinking about what Gaara had said. Gaara came up to him and handed him a popsicle. "Come on," he said, tugging lightly on Sasuke's sleeve. "We're going to miss Kankuro's big debut."

Sasuke had expected Gaara to lead him to a small corner or something and was surprised to find himself in a large stadium. "Is Kankuro really this good?"

Gaara shrugged. "I guess so. People come from all over just to see him. Half the zoo's profits come from Kankuro's pull."

They sat down, and Sasuke opened his popsicle. He slid the red treat between his lips, pulling it slowly in and out several times. A little bit of juice ran down his lower lip toward his chin, and his tongue, now dyed bright red, flicked out and caught it before it was out of reach.

Gaara stared, open-mouthed. Sasuke glanced over. "Umm... Can I help you?"

Gaara realized Sasuke had no idea how erotic that scene was and kept his mouth shut about it, knowing Sasuke wouldn't continue the spectacle if he said something. Hell, he would keep feeding the model popsicles until he (Sasuke) exploded if he had to! "Nothing, nothing. Keep going."

Sasuke shrugged, thinking no more about it before sliding the entire thing into his mouth. He noticed Gaara was staring again. "_What_?" he demanded. "It's just a popsicle! Stop staring at me like that!"

"A word of advice," Gaara said, his own lips stained blue from his popsicle, "when you go out with Naruto on Saturday, ask him to buy you a popsicle."

Sasuke opened his mouth to ask why but at that moment, the show started, and his question wouldn't have been heard above the cheers anyway. Sasuke jumped when there was a large ball of fire and Kankuro appeared.

The show was actually pretty good. While there was an ongoing theme of friendship and individuality for the kids, there were lots of special effects to keep their attention. Kankuro juggled up to ten balls, jumped through hoops of fire, and enacted several magic tricks flawlessly.

"Wow, your brother's really good," Sasuke remarked.

"Is he?" Gaara asked, staring in the other direction, uninterested. When the show ended, Gaara didn't join in the applause. They waited for the crowds to die down before making their way down to the stage.

"Gaara!" Kankuro said, surprised. "I didn't know you would be here!"

"Sasuke, this is Kankuro," he introduced half-heartedly. "Kankuro, this is my friend, Sasuke. Kankuro, I won't be home for dinner. Could you tell Temari?"

Kankuro rolled his eyes. "Tell her yourself. I'm busy. Nice to meet you, Sasuke." He turned around and disappeared behind a large trailer."

"Nice man," said Sasuke, bemused.

"You should see him when he _wasn't _just paid," Gaara answered tersely. "Regular fucking ball of sunshine, he is." He grabbed Sasuke's arm and pulled in the other direction. "Come on, let's go see the pandas. Mi Lang is only shown on Tuesdays because she's pregnant. She's closely monitored the other days, hooked up to all sorts of machines."

Sasuke smiled. "I love pandas."

Gaara spun around and rested his hands on Sasuke's shoulders. "More than foxes?"

Sasuke searched Gaara's face for some sign that he was playing around, but only found concrete seriousness, his eyes full of desperate pleading. "Gaara, what are you talking about?"

Gaara averted his eyes. "Nothing. Don't worry about it."

"Gaara, are you sure you're okay?"

But the redhead refused to answer.

-

By the time the day was over, Sasuke had to admit that he had had a great time. They had dinner at a little Italian restaurant next to the zoo and then watched fireworks from the boardwalk. It was truly romantic, and Sasuke felt guilty wishing Naruto were by his side instead.

Gaara walked him home, which, Sasuke thought, was unnecessary with Kisame there.

At the front entrance to the apartment, Gaara took Sasuke's hands. "You're very pretty, you know," he said softly. "And not just the outside. Don't let anyone ever change you. You're perfect the way you are." He softly kissed Sasuke's cheek, and the next moment, he was gone, almost as if he hadn't been there at all to begin with, as if this whole day were just a dream.

"Good night, Gaara," Sasuke whispered after him.

Sasuke stumbled into his bedroom without turning on the lights and was halfway to his bed when he remembered he needed to pack. Kisame had followed him in, so he knew he wouldn't be able to sleep any time soon, anyway.

He grabbed several outfits from his closet and threw them unceremoniously into his suitcase. He sat back on his bed and suddenly felt tears welling up in his eyes.

'I fell in love,' he realized. 'I didn't want to fall in love...'

Falling in love meant complications. He had already resolved to come back from Otogakure early so he could spend more time with Naruto. What would happen when he started cancelling trips all together...? He would be out of a job, and worse--the press might start hounding Naruto. Could the blonde take all that negative attention? And worse still...what would Itachi do to him?

Besides, Naruto only liked him as a friend. There was no way he would ever like him as anything more...was there?

'NO! I can't let myself think that way! I don't want to get hurt...'

He stood up suddenly. Not knowing exactly where he was going or what he would do when he got there, his feet took him at a quick pace to his front door. He opened the door and jumped back, startled, when he saw Naruto with his hand up as if he were just about to knock.

"Ah! Naruto... What are you doing?"

Naruto rubbed the back of his head and laughed. "Well, Gaara called me a few minutes ago and said you had to go to Otogakure for the rest of the week. I just wanted to say good bye." He lowered his hand and looked curiously at Sasuke. "Where were you going?"

"What do you mean?"

"Well... I hadn't knocked yet, but you were opening the door."

Sasuke started to feel panicked. How would he tell Naruto that he had been on his way to see him? "I was--I was on my way to the store, to get some snacks for the trip."

Naruto laughed. "That bag from Anko's wasn't enough? Then again...I suppose you probably wouldn't want something made entirely of sugar."

"Yeah..."

Naruto tilted his head slightly. "Sasuke, are you okay? You seem depressed about something. Is there anything I can do to help? Here, I'll help you pack, and you can tell me about it."

There was a long, loud moan that came from Itachi's room.

"...Then again, why don't we go to the store first?" Naruto's face fell. "Oh... But you need a bodyguard, don't you..."

Sasuke shook his head before leaving the apartment, closing the door softly behind him. "No, it's fine. I'll be fine."

"Well," said Naruto as they waited for the elevator, "if anyone attacks you, I know kung fu! ...Sort of. But I did get an A in kicking ass!"

Sasuke snorted. "Right, dobe."

Naruto stuck out his tongue. "Geez, way to be a jerk face. See if I ever talk to you again."

Even though Sasuke knew Naruto was being sarcastic, he still felt a sharp pain shoot through his heart. Without thinking, he reached out, grabbed a fistful of Naruto's shirt, and leaned his head against the base of the blonde's neck. "Don't--"

The elevator doors opened, but Naruto didn't move. At first, Sasuke was afraid that Naruto was angry with him, but the blonde turned around and wrapped his arms around the brunette. "Sasuke," he whispered softly in his ear, "Sasuke, what's wrong? You can trust me. You can tell me anything..."

Sasuke drew back, tears stinging the corners of his eyes. What would he say to the man he loved so much it hurt...yet the very same he could never be with...?

"Sasuke?"

The door to Sasuke's apartment flew open, revealing Itachi wearing a robe and a pair of black silk boxers. "Sasuke!" he snapped. "You can't just go wandering off like this! What if you had been kidnapped and held for ransom? How would okaa-san and otou-san feel?"

Sasuke's stone cold façade was suddenly back in place. "What do you care anyway, Itachi? All you care about is yourself. I know for a fact that I only see about 40 percent of what I make and that you keep the rest." He knew it was no good provoking his older brother, that this would only end painfully for him, but he couldn't help it. With Naruto there, he felt like he could stand up to anything.

"I'm surprised you feel that way," Itachi said slowly, his voice deceptively sweet. "I suppose there's no way I can prove my love to you, little brother, but one day, you'll see..." The door closed softly, and Sasuke practically ran down the stairs, Naruto puffing behind him, trying to keep up.

"S--Sasuke, wait up!"

Sasuke slowed down a little, but the thought of putting as much distance between himself and Itachi was first on his "to-do" list. Whenever Itachi adopted that tone, Sasuke knew that he was in deep shit. The sweeter the tone, the deeper the shit, and at that moment, Itachi could have passed as a kindergarten teacher.

"Sasuke!" Naruto shouted, finally able to grab onto Sasuke's arm and pull until he stopped. "Sasuke, what's wrong? What's gotten into you?"

"Itachi's going to kill me!" Sasuke managed to pant. "He's a control whore! If he's not in control of every little aspect of my life, he's not happy, and I--I went against him! He's going to _kill _me!"

"It can't be that bad," Naruto tried to reason. "I mean, he's your brother, after all."

Sasuke sent Naruto a look usually reserved for people he loathed. "You don't know my brother." He sighed and suddenly looked like a very small child, ignorant and alone. "I'm sorry. Let's just...let's go."  
Naruto bit his tongue against the barrage of questions, knowing that when Sasuke was ready to answer, he would.

They arrived at the convenience store, and Naruto waved to the man at the register. "Hey, Asuma-san!"

Asuma didn't remove the cigarette from between his lips when he greeted Naruto back. "Hey, Naruto. Who's your friend?"

"This is Sasuke!" Naruto answered. "He's going on vacation, so we're getting him some treats!"

Asuma laughed. "It seems like you're not the only one going on vacation, Sasuke-kun. I've never seen the shop so busy! Shino-kun's going on a camping trip with his father...something about finding a rare bee for their new honey. And Kiba-kun's sister Hana-chan is going on some trip with her veterinarian class at college... Oh, and Sakura-chan and Ino-chan were in here! They said they'd be back in a few minutes..."

Sasuke and Naruto blanched. "Maybe we should have waited for Kisame," Naruto mumbled.

"Well, if they come in, we'll just make a run for it," Sasuke muttered back.

Naruto grabbed a basket and quickly began stuffing all sorts of things into it. He had stocked up on about thirty cups of instant ramen before turning to Sasuke. "Oh, yeah. I guess we're supposed to be shopping for you, aren't we?"

Sasuke laughed as Naruto's hand automatically went up to rub the back of his head. He grabbed a basket for himself and let Naruto toss some things inside. He lifted up a cup of instant ramen and eyed it curiously. "Is this stuff any good?"

Naruto looked as if he had been slapped. "You're kidding, right? That stuff is the _best_! Well, I mean, nothing can come close to the real thing, but it's a sure second."

They had just finished paying for their goodies when the bell above the shop tinkled. They could almost feel the two pairs of eyes burning holes into their backs. They slowly turned around, and their stomachs dropped when they found themselves face-to-face with Ino and Sakura.

"Saaasuke!!" they cheered in unison. They shoved Naruto clear across the store before tackling Sasuke.

"I'm coming, Sasuke!" Naruto called, trying to shove the girls away.

"Sasuke-kuuun!!" Ino cried shrilly. "Please sign my breasts!!"  
"No! Sign _mine_!" Sakura shouted, shoving Naruto aside.

Thinking quickly, Naruto pointed outside before shouting, "Oh my kami, it's Hatake Kakashi-sama!!"

Ino and Sakura dropped Sasuke before bolting outside. "Come on, Sasuke!" Naruto hissed. "Now's our chance!"

"Go out the back, Naruto-kun," said Asuma, hardly changing his expression. "It'll be safer that way. I'll keep them off your trail for as long as possible."

"Arigatou, Asuma-san!!" Naruto grabbed Sasuke by the wrist and pulled them out the back door, sprinting into the darkness. "Is your life always like this?" Naruto questioned.

Sasuke nodded, even though Naruto was facing ahead. "Yeah, pretty much. For weeks, no one will recognize me, and then suddenly everyone wants my autograph. I guess because I've been in a movie, it's sped up the wait period."

Naruto shrugged. "No, I think Ino-chan goes on star watches, where she just sits and waits for someone famous to crawl in her midst. And with her big mouth, everyone should know you're here within the hour. Maybe it's a good thing you'll be out of town for a few days."

"Oh, God," Sasuke said, his stomach dropping even further. "They're going on vacation, too, Asuma-san said... You don't think they're following me, do you?"

Naruto chewed his lip for a few moments. "Well, at least you'll have Kisame there. He looks like he can kick some serious ass."

They had finally slowed down to a walk, but Naruto hadn't let go of Sasuke's wrist. It took a moment for Naruto to orient himself, and he realized he had dragged them nearly half a mile away from the apartment. There was a low rumble of thunder, and it began to drizzle. Naruto pulled Sasuke to the doorway of a nearby abandoned church to get out of the rain. There was barely enough room for the both of them in the tight doorway, but there wasn't enough time to change locations as the sky opened up and dumped torrents of rain.

Naruto let out a low whistle. "Wow, that storm moved in fast..." He noticed Sasuke shaking. "Hey, you all right?"

Sasuke nodded curtly. "Of course, dobe." There was a flash of lightening and another low rumble of thunder. Sasuke jumped and squeaked before clutching the front of Naruto's shirt like his life depended on it.

"You're afraid of thunder?" Naruto asked.

"Lightening," Sasuke whispered. "And I'm terrified."

Naruto wrapped his arms around Sasuke and rubbed small circles on his back. "This storm shouldn't last long," he reassured. "It rolled in pretty quickly, so it should be gone soon and then we'll go home."

Sasuke mumbled something into Naruto's arm.

"Sorry, what? I didn't catch that."

Sasuke looked up, his dark eyes rimmed with pale pink. "It's Itachi's fault," he whispered, "that I'm afraid of lightening. Whenever it would storm, he would lock me out of the house until it stopped raining."

"That's awful," hushed Naruto, tightening his grip around the smaller boy. "I can't believe he would do something like that... Where were your parents?"

Sasuke tensed. "Otou-san told me it was the only way to get over my fears. Okaa-san didn't know about it. They adopted an 'Itachi knows best' mentality, thinking he was acting for my interests rather than his own. He has that effect over people, where they never believe he's acting of his own interests until it's too late, and their wallet's empty and their heart's been crushed."

Naruto gently pressed his lips to the top of Sasuke's head. "Don't ever believe for a second that you're worth his time. You're better than that! You're--" He dropped his head. "You're the best thing that's ever happened to me."

Sasuke looked up at Naruto, but because of their close proximity and height, their lips met. Each thought the other would back away, disgusted, but when neither moved for several seconds, Naruto, emboldened, pressed their lips more firmly together. When Sasuke pressed back, Naruto's hands slid downward and rested comfortably on Sasuke's ass. Sasuke wound his hands in Naruto's blonde locks. He brought up his left leg and wrapped it around Naruto, pulling their bodies flesh against one another. He leaned backward until his back was pressed against the wall, pulling Naruto with him. Naruto pressed his now hard cock into Sasuke, who gasped and ground back, equally hard.

They heard someone clear their throat a short way off, and the broke apart quickly, both turning bright red. They glanced over and saw Kisame standing in the rain with a large umbrella.

"Sasuke," he snapped. "You're leaving in eight hours. Don't you think you should go home and get some sleep?"

Not knowing what to say to Naruto, Sasuke merely nodded and accepted the other umbrella. He was several steps away before glancing back at Naruto. "Are you coming, dobe?"

Naruto growled. "What's with this new nickname, jerk face? I'm not sure if I like it."

Sasuke shrugged. "So?"

Naruto ducked under the umbrella and had to stand pressed against Sasuke to keep out of the rain. However, it was awkward. Neither one wanted to say anything about their passionate kiss in front of Kisame, but it grew more and more awkward the longer they stayed pressed up against one another. Finally, Naruto couldn't take it anymore.

"A--Ano sa, ano sa, Sasuke! I--I forgot! I promised Kiba I'd help him--with Akamaru."

Naruto's stomach wrenched when he spied the loneliness deep within Sasuke's eyes. "Oh... Well, I'll see you later, then."

Naruto nodded. He brushed his lips softly across Sasuke's cheek before disappearing into the night and rain.

-

Sasuke didn't make it to his room. He stumbled onto the couch and fell asleep immediately. Kisame took the thick blanket from the back of the couch and draped it over Sasuke's shivering form.

Itachi handed Kisame a steaming mug of hot chocolate. "Where was he?"

Kisame smirked before setting the mug down on the coffee table. Without warning, he shoved Itachi against the wall and mimicked Naruto's previous position. "He was right where you are."

"Oh?" Instead of falling prey to Kisame's sexual advances, Itachi pushed him off and stood over his brother. "I don't like how cocky he's gotten recently."

Kisame froze when he caught sight of Itachi's expression. "Itachi? What are you planning...?"

-

Sorry, but I'm with Naruto on this one: the zoo kicks some serious ass in the super rad awesome fun time department. :) Not even kidding, the zoo is one of my favorite places to go. I have a goal to visit at least one zoo in every state before I die! So far, I've hit...two zoos, two states. Then again, I've also hit two aquariums and Sea World, so...three states. Does that count? I had a nightmare once that my mom promised she'd take me to the zoo but then she didn't. I woke up crying. True story! Then I told my psychology class about my dream. Don't tell your psychology class about your dreams.

Please review!! :D Reviews make me a very happy writer. :)


	6. Playing Cupid

Thanks so much for the gorgeous reviews!! I really appreciate them. :) Thanks so much to unholynight, Alicefreak, rosekyo, Raining-Roses, cadywise, Prism0467, hisoka kurosaki, Judas, Yaoifrk, and my anonymous reviewer!! Oh, and I'm glad everyone likes the zoo as I do. :)

_Chapter 6: Playing Cupid_

Naruto arrived on Gaara's doorstep soaking wet and muddy. He pounded on the apartment door for nearly a full minute before Temari finally answered.

"Naruto?" she asked, rubbing her eyes sleepily. "Naru-kun, it's almost one o'clock in the morning. What are you doing?"

"I need to talk to Gaara."

Temari noticed the pleading and anxiety in his voice and eyes and relented. "All right, come on in. He's in his room, but I don't think he's fallen asleep yet."

Naruto nodded sharply before practically running into the redhead's room. Gaara looked up quickly from the book he was reading and yelped when Naruto practically threw his body on top of his.

"Naruto! What are you doing?" Gaara sighed, resigning himself to yet another long night. "Come on, Uzumaki, you're soaking wet. What happened?" When Naruto wouldn't answer, he gently eased him to the bathroom and started a hot bath. "You're covered in mud. I'll throw your clothes in the wash while you sit in the tub, okay?"

As Gaara added soap to the pile of clothes in the washing machine, he realized that for no other person besides Naruto would he have paid this much care. For most of his life, he had been kicked around and spat at, so he treated others with the same respect they had given him. But Naruto...Naruto was different. Naruto genuinely seemed to want to help others--someone truly altruistic.

He tossed a couple towels in the dryer for a few minutes before going back to the bathroom. After making sure Naruto had scrubbed all the mud from his body and letting out the water, he helped him stand up and wrapped him in the warm towels. He lay Naruto down on the bed before climbing under the covers with him.

"Naruto?" he asked softly, pushing the damp blonde locks away from his blue eyes. "Naruto, what happened?"

Naruto rolled onto his back and stared at the ceiling. "I--I kissed him. No... It was more than a kiss... It was like every part of my body went out to his... I felt like I was on fire..."

"Isn't that a good thing?"

Naruto turned to face Gaara, sky blue meeting sea green. "I don't know. I mean, he's leaving tomorrow, and we didn't even get to talk about what happened. It's like...every time we kiss, we're interrupted and we don't get to talk about what happened. I...I really want to tell him how much I love him, but I can never find the right words...and it never seems like the right time..."

Gaara reached between them and took Naruto's hand in his own. "You'll find the right time. Tell him Saturday. You two will be spending the whole day together, right? Something will present itself, ne?"

Naruto shrugged. "I suppose...but...Kisame's always there."

"You're smart. You'll figure something out."

Naruto laughed dryly. "It's funny. I just met him Friday night, and I've already fallen head over heels in love with him. Ne, ne, Gaara! Have you ever been in love?"

"...Go to sleep, baka. You have work in the morning."

"Eeeehhhh?? Gaara!! Teme!! Whowhowhowho?"

"...You sound like an owl."

Naruto huffed. "Fine, I see how it is. I pour my heart out to you, and this is how you repay me. You know what this means? I'm stealing your clothes! I can't sleep in a towel you know!"

Gaara rolled over so Naruto wouldn't see his smile. He was just glad Naruto was back to normal. Because when Naruto smiled, the whole world lit up. A happy Naruto meant he was able to sleep at night. "I think I heard the washer go off. I'll go put your clothes in the dryer." He jumped when he felt Naruto's arms wrap around from behind. He smiled but didn't say anything when he heard Naruto whisper "Arigatou" to the floor.

-

Gaara woke up at nearly noon the next morning, realizing that he had slept a solid nine hours--the longest he had slept since the first time Naruto had spent the night. He had fallen asleep wrapped in Naruto's strong arms feeling safe and not having a care in the world. Throwing his pride down the drain for this miracle, he decided to try his best to get Naruto and Sasuke together.

-

Sasuke had just checked into his hotel in Otogakure when his cell phone rang. "Moshi moshi, this is Uchiha Sasuke."

"Moshi moshi, Sasuke-kun, it's Gaara."  
"Gaara?"

"Yeah?"

"...Why are you calling me? And how'd you get my number?"

"I stole it from Naruto while he was sleeping."

"...That's really weird."

Gaara glared at the phone. He had half a mind to hang up until he remembered the look on Naruto's face when he first arrived at his apartment at one o'clock in the morning. "Whatever," he mumbled.

"So...why are you calling me?"

Gaara gritted his teeth, hating himself for what he was about to do. "Do you have any orange scented soap?"

"...What? I'm in Otogakure right now."

"...What?"

"Are you asking to borrow some?"

"What? No!" Gaara took a deep breath, starting over. "No, it's just that, if you have some, use it for Saturday. Naruto goes crazy for anything scented orange. Or colored orange. Orange is his favorite color and scent, but his favorite flavor--besides ramen, of course--is chocolate strawberry."

"And I should eat a popsicle in front of him," Sasuke reiterated, his tone sarcastic. "Gaara, what the hell are you trying to pull? Why are you telling me all this?"

"I know you...love Naruto--a lot. I can tell. You're not obvious, but when you smile...it's like he's the only one in the world for you." He ground his eyes shut, hating playing Cupid. "Look, Naruto's my best friend, and I want to see him happy. I think you'll make him very happy."

"But Naruto doesn't even like me in that way," Sasuke said sadly. "He's not gay. He said he thinks your sister's hot."

"Oh, did he?" Gaara was suddenly seeing red. How dense could Sasuke be? How could he not tell that Naruto would give his life to him. And speaking of Naruto--why the hell would he say Temari's hot?! "Well, it doesn't matter, I guess. Just--do whatever. But... No, never mind. You know best."

Sasuke looked at his phone and saw he was no longer connected. "That was weird," Sasuke muttered to himself as he began unpacking.

-

Gaara sighed. He really sucked at this whole cupid thing. But...he really needed to see Naruto happy. He resigned himself to making another phone call.

"Moshi moshi!"

"...Kiba?"

Kiba erupted. "TEME!! Why are you calling Hinata's phone??"

Gaara smirked at how easily it was to rile that dog up. "What's it to you? Where is she, anyway?"

Kiba was literally growling. Gaara almost laughed when he heard Hinata in the background asking who was on the phone. "No!! You tell me why you're calling her!! Teme, I'll kill you!! Hang on, Hinata, I got this. No--Hina-chan, why is Gaara calling--OUCH! Hinata, don't hit me--OUCH! Akamaru, why are _you biting_--OUCH! OW OW OW!! STOP IT!!"

It was Hinata's voice that Gaara heard next. "Moshi moshi, is this Gaara-kun?"

"Hai. Moshi moshi, Hinata-chan."

"Hold on, Gaara-kun, let me move to a quieter room."

"NO! HINATA! WHERE ARE YOU GOING? DON'T YOU LOCK THIS DOOR! HIIINAATAAA!!"

"...Sounds intense," Gaara remarked.

Hinata giggled. "Yeah, it is."

Gaara realized how much Hinata had broken out of her shell when she had finally gotten over her crush on Naruto and had started going out with Kiba. Apparently Kiba's outgoing personality had rubbed off on her, and she was a lot more outspoken than when Gaara had first met her. "Oh, Hina-chan, you're alone now, aren't you?"

"Hai."

Gaara twisted the bed sheet he was gripping in his hand. _Why _had he started doing this...? "Hina-chan, you remember when we were on the boat, with Sasuke-kun...?" Gaara shook his head. Sasuke-_kun_? _Hina-chan_? Hinata must have been rubbing off on _him_, too.

"Of course, Gaara-kun. That was only a couple of days ago."

"Right... Well, did you notice anything between Naruto and Sasuke?"

Hinata laughed lightly. "That would be like asking if the sky is blue, Gaara-kun! Of course I noticed! How could you _not _notice the sexual tension between them? If we had left them alone at all, they definitely would have--you know..." Hinata trailed off, her more timid personality kicking in. Gaara could imagine her blushing and tapping her forefingers together nervously.

"Yeah, well..."

"You want me to help you play Cupid and get them together?"

"Uh, yeah..."

Hinata giggled. "That's so cute, Gaa-kun! Of course I'll help!"

"Uh... Thanks. Well, I already called Sasuke and told him that Naruto likes orange scented soap. He has some apparently..." Gaara broke off when he heard Hinata was laughing. "What?" he demanded irritably.

"G--Gaara-kun!" she said between giggles. Gaara distinctly heard Kiba in the background shouting, "He's making you laugh!! WHY IS HE MAKING YOU LAUGH?!" However, Hinata ignored him and stated, "You've obviously never done something like this before. You were right in calling a professional like me."

Gaara was dumbstruck. "Y--You've done this before?"

Hinata huffed. "Of course! I'm a girl, aren't I? Getting people together is my specialty!"

"Oh."

"Okay, when was the last time you talked to Naru-kun and where is he now?"

Gaara was surprised by the sudden authoritarian tone to her voice. "Uhh, well, he stayed over last night but left before I woke up this morning... He's at work right now. I think he gets off at seven."

"Perfect!" There was a sharp snap as Hinata clapped her hands together. "Okay, I'll go talk to Naru-kun. Then, you go to the bookstore around seven and invite him out for dinner. Bring him to Ichiraku's, I suppose, and Kiba and I will meet you there--totally unexpectedly, of course, so act surprised to see us!"

"Uhh... Okay, Hina-chan. Then what?"

"Secret!" she answered.

"...Right."

"Well, I'll see you later, Gaara-kun."

"Bye, Hina-chan."

There was a knock on his door right as he closed his phone and Temari entered looking somewhat confused. "I just got a call from Shikamaru," she said, "who just got a call from Kiba who was wondering why you were calling Hinata..."

Gaara blinked. "Oh. Well, apparently I'm going out to dinner tonight."

"Ehh? With Hina-chan?"

"No. Naruto."

Temari smirked. "Ah, I knew you had a thing for him! And you called Hinata for relationship advice. How cute!"

"...No, that's not it at all. Tell Shikamaru to tell Kiba to keep his damn nose in his own fucking business."

"All right, all right, fine... Geez, who pissed in your orange juice?"

-

Naruto looked up when he heard someone enter the shop. Kimimaro was on his break, and Naruto really didn't want to deal with any customers at the moment, so he was glad when it was Hinata. "Ah! Hina-chan! What's up?"

"A--Ano, Naru-kun," she said, tapping her fingers together nervously, "I--I was wondering...well..."

"What's wrong?" Naruto asked, suddenly very worried. "Are you and Kiba okay? He's not abusing you, is he? Kuso...! I'll kill that bastard!!"

"A--Ah! Naru-kun, that's not it! No, Kiba's treating me just fine... It's just that... Well, because I'm with Kiba all the time, I feel like we haven't gotten to talk recently...just the two of us..."

"Oh. Well, what did you want to talk about, Hina-chan?"

"A--Ano...I was wondering, actually, if... Well, I think Sasuke-kun is very cute, and I'm a huge fan of his... And--And I was wondering if you had his number..."

"...What about Kiba?"

Hinata blushed and tapped her fingers more vigorously. Inwardly, however, she was silently cheering. 'Yes! Everything's going according to plan!' "Ah! No! I--I would never...on Kiba-kun..." She shook her head violently. "A--Ano... I--I just wanted to see if I could get his autograph, but I was too shy to ask him in person. Oh! Naru-kun! Maybe you could ask him for me! Are you seeing him any time soon?"

Naruto nodded. "Yeah, he's in Otogakure at the moment, but we're hanging out on Saturday! I can tell him then!"

"Saturday? Is it a date, then?"

It was Naruto's turn to blush. "Oh... Umm... No, no, it's not. Well, I mean, it might be--no, I mean... Ha, ha!" He rubbed the back of his head. "Of course it's not a date, Hina-chan! What would make you think that, ha, ha, ha!"

Hinata smirked. "Naruto-kun... Do you have a crush on Sasuke-kun?"

Naruto almost fell out of his chair, catching himself at the last minute. He stared into Hinata's kind face, knowing that even if he denied it, she would find out anyway. He grinned and said, "Am I that obvious?"

Hinata laughed, giving up her innocent girl facade. "I'm sure Sasuke-kun hasn't noticed. But... Oh, Naru-kun! What are you wearing Saturday?"

Naruto stared at her. "Uhh... I don't know. Why?"

Hinata stared back. "N--Naru-kun, are you serious...? Ah, of course you are." She shook her head softly. "Don't worry, Naru-kun, we'll find you something to wear in that pitiful mound you call a wardrobe. We'll steal something from Neji if we have to."

"We??"

Hinata giggled. "Of course! Neji would never let _you _into his closet!"

"No, I mean...why are you helping me?"

Hinata turned bright red. "Because you're my friend, of course! And...because the thought of you two together..." She turned even redder and began tapping her fingers together once more. "A--Ah! Look at the time! I have to get going! Oh! Naru-kun, hold on!" She quickly grabbed his phone and added Sasuke's number to her own before tossing back the blonde's phone. "Ja ne, Naru-kun!!"

"Hinata!!" Naruto called after her, but she didn't turn around. "Women," he muttered. "It's like they're a different species..."

-

Sasuke saw the unknown number and seriously debated picking up. However, he was supposed to be going out to dinner with the director of the new movie, and he really wanted to delay the torture for as long as possible. "Moshi moshi, this is Uchiha Sasuke."

"Sasuke-kun! Moshi moshi, this is Hyuuga Hinata."

"Ah! Hinata...chan...! ...How did you get my number?"

"Secret! Oh! I overheard Ino and Sakura the other day plotting to go to Otogakure. You might want to cancel all plans and stay indoors for the night. Apparently they're bringing duct tape, rope, and a video camera."

"Oh. Thank you, Hinata-chan." He made a mental note to call the director later. "Is that all you called to say?"

"Eto... Iie. Sasuke-kun, I wanted to know what your favorite scent is."

Sasuke stared at the phone as if it were from another planet. Well, he was used to these sorts of strange questions. "Ah, peaches, I suppose. Why?"

"No reason. Ano sa, what's your favorite color, Sasuke-kun? Oh! And your favorite activity!"

"...Have you been talking to Gaara?"

He stared at his phone when he realized the line had gone dead. "Weird," he muttered. Taking to mind what Hinata had said about Sakura and Ino, he knocked on the door across the hall. Kisame stuck just his head between the door and the frame.

"Yeah?"

"Kisame, I just received a tip from a friend, and I don't think I'm going out tonight...unless you want to deal with fangirls."

Kisame laughed. "What do you think I trained for?"

"One of them is that blonde from the flower shop...and there might be more."

Kisame blanched. "I'll call the director and cancel dinner, saying that you're very tired from the long trip. Then we'll order take-out to my room."

"Thanks a million, Kisame. I owe you one."

"...Don't mention it."

-

It had been a very slow day at Kyuubi Bookstore, so Kimimaro and Naruto decided to close shop at six. They were counting the money in the register when Gaara entered the shop.

"Naruto, when you're done counting, I'm taking you out to dinner."

Naruto gave him a strange look. "Why?"

Gaara shrugged. "I'll bring you to Ichiraku's. Are you still complaining?"

Naruto's face lit up. "Who said I was complaining? Come on! What are you waiting for? Let's go!!" Without warning, he grabbed onto Gaara's arm and took off sprinting toward Ichiraku's. Gaara would have told Naruto that he could walk on his own and didn't need Naruto's help, but he had figured out quickly from experience that words meant little to Naruto.

Once inside the ramen shop, Naruto immediately spied Hinata and Kiba. "Oyyy!! Hina-chan, Kiba!!" Naruto called before pulling Gaara to sit with them.

"Oh! Naru-kun! What a surprise!" She elbowed Kiba in the ribs, and he grunted in agreement.

Naruto surveyed the restaurant before ordering his meal. He chanced a glance toward the doorway and spotted a familiar pair before waving them down. "Haku!! Zabuza!! Over here!!"

"Could you be a little quieter, Naruto?" Kiba growled.

Naruto stuck out his tongue. "Not a chance!"

Haku and Zabuza made their way through the busy restaurant over to the foursome. "Hello," said Haku with a smile. "We were just going to order our meal to go and get out of here, but how is everybody?"

Naruto immediately launched into a detailed description of his life. Haku smiled patiently as he waited for the blonde to finish, but Zabuza wasn't as thrilled with this unexpected detour. He kept silent as long as he could before roughly cutting Naruto off with a sharp, "We have to leave--now," and dragging Haku back out of the restaurant.

"Yeesh," observed Naruto. "I thought Haku had Zabuza totally whipped. I guess I had them figured wrong."

By the time they were halfway through with their meals, Hinata had strategically maneuvered the conversation toward Sasuke. "So," she started coyly, "I heard Sasuke-kun's in Otogakure. Is he there for another photo shoot, or...?"

"No," said Naruto around a mouthful of noodles. "He's going to be in another movie. I don't remember what it's called."

"_The Seven Suns_," Gaara interjected, sounding bored. "It's another one of Itachi's plays and is almost as poorly written as _Insomniac's Dream_."

"Hey!" pouted Naruto. "I liked _Insomniac's Dream_!"

Gaara rolled his eyes. "Baka. You never saw the original play. Besides, you only liked the movie because it had Sasuke in it. I bet you don't even know what the storyline is."

Naruto's ever-present grin took on a lecherous appeal. "What can I say? I liked what I saw."

"And who would have thought that he'd become your neighbor," laughed Kiba. "I can't believe a bum like you gets to live next to someone that filthy rich. Did he ever tell you why he moved?"

Naruto shrugged. "I never asked. But, why do you keep asking me about Sasuke? Every time I talk to any of you, we always end up talking about him." He turned his nose up in the air and huffed, "What if I don't want to talk about him, huh? Ever think about that? What if I don't even like him?"

Kiba started laughing so hard he nearly cried. "Baka! It's so obvious that you love him! Why don't you drop the act and commence with the fucking?"

"As lewdly as Kiba-kun put it," added Hinata, glaring sideways at her boyfriend, "he's right, you know. I think Saturday's the perfect chance for you two to get together. But, you know, do whatever you think is right. You know best, Naruto-kun."

"...I sense sarcasm."

"Good. I was laying it on pretty thick."

-

Sasuke did not want to open his eyes when his alarm went off at six in the morning. Not a morning person, he loathed being up before the sun. Although, in all fairness, the sun was scheduled to rise at 6:08. Yawning and stretching, Sasuke stumbled out of bed and into the shower. He barely bothered with his hair, knowing that the costume designer would fret over it anyway. He was out the door by 6:30 and met Kisame in the lobby.

"Good m--m--m--morning," Sasuke said around an enormous yawn.

"Don't do that," Kisame scolded. "If I'm driving, I don't want to be yawning and fall asleep at the wheel..."

After what seemed like days fooling around with the wardrobe artist, the make-up artist, the hairdresser, the vocal instructor, the director...it was only nine o'clock, and Sasuke was still one cup of coffee shy from being totally awake and alert.

Sasuke didn't stop moving until they finally stopped filming at eight that evening. He went out for dinner with the director, who talked incessantly about the film, as if Sasuke hadn't heard every detail while Itachi was writing the original play, and then again while they were consulting Itachi as they turned it into a cinematic event. By the time he was finally alone in his hotel, he was exhausted and immediately climbed into bed.

The next day was just as rough, yet he wasn't as tired by the end of it. When he arrived back at his hotel room that evening, he had just enough energy left to check his phone. Surprised to see he had a voicemail, he turned on the television without paying much attention to see who it was from.

His world stopped when he heard the voice on the other end.

"Moshi moshi, Sasuke! It's Naruto! I just wanted to see how things were going and to make sure they're treating you like the movie star you are! Also...I heard a rumor that Ino and Sakura are in town, so if you could give me a heads up and let me know you're still alive, that would be great. Well, I've gotta run. I'll see you on Saturday, Sasuke!"

Sasuke actually stood up and did a little jig. He saw he had a couple texts from Naruto as well, but they were all just a "Hey!" or "How's it goin'?"

Too tired to participate in an actual conversation, Sasuke texted, "Hey, Naruto, I just got your messages. I've been really busy, but thankfully I haven't run into that infamous pair. I'll see you Saturday!"

He pushed send, fell back against his pillows, and fell into a deep sleep.

-

Naruto awoke Friday morning to his phone ringing. He fumbled in the dark and finally found it. "Ahh… Moshi moshi…"

"Naru-kun? This is Hina-chan. Hurry up and get dressed. We have a lot to do before you have to go to work in three hours."

"Hina-chan… What time is it?

"Seven."

Naruto yawned and stretched. "What exactly is it that we have to do today, Hina-chan…?"

"Just meet me at my house as soon as you can, okay?" And without another word, Hinata hung up the phone.

Resigning himself to whatever Hinata had planned for him, he rolled out of bed and got ready and ate breakfast as quickly as possible. He took the bus across town to the Hyuuga residence. Staring up at the large manor, he always felt strange getting invited here by either Neji or Hinata. It was almost as if there could never be enough happiness generated to fill every nook and cranny of the mansion and therefore always had a frigid sort of atmosphere.

Smoothing down his hair, Naruto pressed the doorbell for the gate surrounding the manor. Only a few seconds passed before the gate swung inward, the iron bars slamming home with an ominous bang once Naruto had cleared them.

"H—Hina-chan?" he called out through the unsettling silence.

Hinata emerged from the main house and beckoned Naruto towards her. Nervous, the blonde took off at a sprint up the long, winding walk. It would have been faster to cut straight across the lawn towards her, but he was afraid the gardener might ask Hyuuga-san to cut off any extraneous appendages.

"Hina-chan?" Naruto whispered once he had reached her, afraid to break the solemn atmosphere by speaking any louder. "Hina-chan, what's going on? Why did you ask me to meet you here? You know your house gives me the creeps…"

Hinata rolled her eyes. "There's only one way to get over your fears, Naru-kun, and that's to face them. But for now…we're going to pick out an outfit for you for Saturday!"

Naruto tilted his head sideways. "Eeeehhhh?? Couldn't we just go to the mall for that? Besides, I have plenty of clothes at home—" Naruto realized that Hinata had been literally dragging him toward Neji's room, and he realized there was no longer any point to protest.

"A—Ano sa, Neji-kun?" Hinata called timidly into the dark room. Naruto realized with a start that he had never actually set foot inside Neji's room before. He gazed anxiously around, wary of anything that might try to kill him. Hinata turned on the light, but Neji was nowhere to be seen. Hinata huffed. "Well, he already gave me permission for you to borrow some of his clothes. Let me find something…" She disappeared into Neji's walk-in closet, leaving Naruto standing uncomfortably still in the middle of the room.

Neji passed by his room and paused, staring curiously at Naruto. Hinata emerged from the closet with several shirts, which Neji laughed at. "Hinata, this is Naruto-kun. You don't have to be so stingy about which clothes to lend him. Those are my casual, every day shirts. Here, let me get him something…"

Naruto stared open mouthed at the shirts Neji brought back into the closet. Three months of pay wouldn't even come close to buying one _sleeve _of those shirts—and Neji called them _casual_?! When Neji brought out another outfit, Naruto took a step backward. "N—Neji, I can't even afford to _touch _that! What if—what if I spill something—?"

"Then I'll have to kill you," Neji answered calmly. "Now try this on, baka."

Naruto marveled at how the fabric felt akin to water as he pulled the shirt over his head. 'Oh yeah, I could _definitely _get used to this…'

He stepped in front of Neji's full-length mirror, and his jaw dropped. He let out a low whistle before commenting, "Hot damn, I am one sexy beast."

Hinata smirked. "Yeah. There's _no way _Sasuke-kun could resist you now…"

Neji circled Naruto several times. "You know what, baka? You look better in this than I do. Consider it a gift. You can keep it."

-

Ugh, so, I finished writing this chapter at like 6:30 in the morning because I couldn't sleep...so I didn't even try. Well, I did try, but I gave up at 5:30, pulled out my laptop, and started writing. Anywho, so, I got to watch the sun rise. But...I live in a mountainous region, so...I've never been all that impressed with sunrises, 'cause all the mountains get in the way. Maybe one day I'll meet a gorgeous sunrise, but for now, I'd rather avoid insomnia and sleep in until at least noon.

Yaaay! Next chapter is their date!! :D Please review!! :)


	7. Ferris Wheel and Fireworks

Okay, so, I'm not gonna lie: I'm pretty partial to this chapter. It's one of the cutest things I've ever written. The only thing that tops it is the ninth chapter of _Ronny Cohen_. By the way, if you haven't read _Ronny Cohen_, you might want to get on that. ;)

Anywho, thanks soooo much to all of my reviewers! You guys mean the world to me!! Thaaaank you icyhiei, Romantically Dead, SuChAbAKa, Satoshi33girl, cadywise, Alicefreak, Jade Rose, Bluesrabbit11, hisoka kurosaki, ninetailedfoxx852, Nanin, Nickles, and WordSlave!! Also, thanks so much to all of those who are reading this story and aren't reviewing. I'm just glad people are reading it!! :D And thanks to those of you who have added this story to your favorites list or story alerts. :) I feel so important!

Okay, enough jibba jabba! Enjoy the chapter!! :D

_Chapter 7: Ferris Wheel and Fireworks_

Naruto bolted upright just before the sun rose on Saturday morning. At first, he couldn't remember why he was so excited to be up before the sun, but soft images of his obsidian idol came to mind, and he was up and in the shower before his brain had processed that he was completely awake. He was careful to use the peach scented shampoo Hinata had bought for him.

Naruto had thought of nothing else except being in the presence of his beloved Sasuke since they had shared their last kiss. He was beginning to go insane and was worried that he wouldn't make it one more day without seeing him.

It took nearly an hour and a half before Naruto felt absolutely ready for his date with Sasuke. Next door, the obsidian-eyed idol was having similar problems. He went through dozens upon dozens of outfits, none of which, he felt, were quite right. Finally, steeling his resolve, he took a deep breath and knocked on his brother's door.

The door opened a fraction of an inch, just enough for Itachi to poke his head through. "What is it, little brother?"

"A—Ah…Itachi…" Sasuke looked at the floor, unable to meet Itachi's piercing gaze. "I—I'm going out today, and I was wondering if—if I could borrow…something to wear…"

The door opened the rest of the way, and Sasuke tentatively followed his brother into the darkened room. He heard a moan from the bed as Itachi pulled the curtains wide open. Sasuke stared wide-eyed at the form on the bed, shielding his eyes from the light blasting in from the windows. Kisame rolled over, and the blanket barely covering his lower half almost didn't follow.

"Let's see…" Itachi threw open his closet doors. "Hmm…" He began holding up various outfits to Sasuke's more petite form, frowning from time to time and seeming unable to make up his mind. At last, he had it narrowed down to two outfits. Turning toward the bed, he said, "Kisame, which one do you think?"

Kisame blinked blearily in their direction. "Itachi, I don't have my contacts in. Describe them to me."

"The one I wore to dinner with Orochimaru, when I first contracted you, or the one I wore at Sasuke's photo shoot in Versailles?"

Kisame squinted toward the outfits. "Versailles…but with the Orochimaru shoes and belt. Wait, what about what you wore for your premiere in Beijing?"

Sasuke blinked. "I don't remember going to Beijing…"

"Relax," said Itachi, rummaging through his closet again. "You were with otou-san and okaa-san that weekend. I merely stole Kisame to keep me company. That's when I had Sasori baby-sit you, remember?"

Sasuke shuddered. How could he forget? Itachi seemed to find the most frightening bodyguards on the face of the planet to watch over him. Honestly! Why couldn't he have picked out a nice, normal bodyguard agency?

Itachi thrust an outfit in Sasuke's hands. "All right, go change, little brother. Kisame will be up and dressed in no time."

Sasuke fidgeted anxiously, not quite sure how to break the news to his brother. Knowing Itachi would be furious, he decided to get it over with as quickly as possible: "Well, I—Itachi… I called Orochimaru-san last night and asked for Deidara to go with me today. You know, so Kisame could get the day off." He realized he probably would have been fine without the nervous laughter at the end.

Kisame reached out and grabbed Itachi's arm, sensing Itachi's anger level skyrocket. Sasuke was relieved he at least had enough sense to pull a blanket along with him. "Itachi," he growled, "it's okay. Oro-san called me a few minutes later, and I okay-ed it. Besides, Ita-kun…" Sasuke was surprised at how sultry Kisame managed to make his voice. He wrapped his arms around the elder Uchiha and pressed his lips against the shell of his ear. "I think it's high time I took _you _on a date."

Itachi looked bemused. "Us? Dating? Kisame, I never knew you had a sense of humor."

Sasuke noticed the look of fury flash through the shark's eyes, and skedaddled out of the room as quickly as possible. As soon as the door had closed behind him, Kisame grabbed Itachi by the shoulders and, digging in his fingers, snarled, "Why can't we, Itachi? You say you don't love me, but I know you do. What are you so _fucking afraid of_?"

Itachi calmly removed Kisame's hands from his shoulders. "I think you'd better go home for today."

Kisame drew his fist back and was a mere three inches from Itachi's nose when the elder Uchiha caught his wrist.

"Do you think it's wise to attack your employer?" Itachi whispered dangerously, his eyes taking on a ruby red hue. "Besides," he scoffed, "I _pay _you, Kisame. It's bad enough keeping you as my fuck toy. If we started dating, you really _would _be a whore…and I don't date whores."

Kisame wrenched his wrist from Itachi's grip and stormed his way to the bedroom door. After he threw it open, he whipped around and snarled, "Now I know why everyone hates you, Itachi: You let people think they're close to you, and just when they've given their entire heart to you, you turn into a fucking brick wall and break off all ties, professing that you never loved them back. But, you know what, Itachi?" By now, the tears the shark had been trying to hold back had burst forth and were running down his face. His voice hiccupped a little, but he kept going, pouring out his heart to the man he had so willingly given it to. "You know what? You _did _love me—you _do _love me! You're just afraid! You're afraid your heart will get broken, so you break mine! You're such a—such a—a fucking _bitch_!"

Itachi stared calmly at Kisame, barely moving. He blinked coldly, and his eyes were back to their normal color. "Interesting theory, Kisame. You are, however, wrong. Now, if you don't mind…" He slowly swung the door shut on Kisame.

"…the best thing that's ever happened to me," they both mumbled from opposite sides of the doorway.

Itachi went into his bathroom and locked the door. He sat down on the closed toilet lid and let silent tears pour down his face.

Kisame stormed from the room, slamming the apartment door behind him. Naruto stuck his head out of his room curiously and was surprised to see Kisame sitting with his back against the wall between the two apartment doors, sobbing.

He sat down beside the shark, feeling awkward, but putting a comforting arm around his shoulders anyway. "A—Ano, Kisame-san… What's wrong?"

Kisame wiped the tears away with the back of his hand. "I thought Sasuke's hatred of his brother wasn't warranted. Hell, I even _watched _as Itachi tried his best to ruin his little brother's life. God, he's such a fucking _control whore_! And now—and now…" He stared at the wall in front of him, the tears replaced by a murderous glare. "It's like I didn't even know him. I had grown to view Sasuke almost like my little brother—even you, too, Naru-kun. And now…I don't think I'll ever see you two again."

Naruto was confused. "A—Ano, Kisame-san… Did something happen between you and Itachi?"

Kisame laughed bitterly. "That fucking cunt broke up with me, because he's too fucking scared to fall in love."

"Oh."

Kisame glanced at Naruto and drew back, seeing him fully for the first time. "W—Whoa… You look—you look really good."

Naruto blushed. "Ah… Thank-you, Kisame-san. A—Are you bodyguard…ing Sasuke today?"

Kisame shook his head. "No. And I probably never will again. Deidara's got it today. He's a nice guy, just a little vain. Oh, and he likes explosions, so try to keep him away from fire."

Naruto helped Kisame to his feet. "You gonna be all right?"

Kisame looked like his usual self, but he shook his head sadly. "I don't think this broken heart will ever heal completely." He sighed. "You should have seen him, Naruto… All ice with no heart. I don't know what he's so damn afraid of… But, Sasuke should be ready soon. Maybe you should go in there and make sure Itachi hasn't eaten him."

"Heh…" Naruto suddenly realized Kisame wasn't joking, and it turned his insides to ice. "Uh, yeah, I think I will go…check. Umm… Well, Kisame, if you ever need a friend, give me a call, all right?"

"Thanks, Naruto. You're a good kid."

Naruto rubbed the back of his head, laughing nervously. He froze when he heard the door open behind him. He turned around; his jaw dropped for a fraction of a second before it turned into a wide grin.

"Wow… Sasuke. You look—fantastic."

"Back at you, dobe." His forehead wrinkled. "Are those…Neji-san's clothes?"

Naruto rubbed the back of his head once more. "Uh, yeah. I borrowed this because—well, because my clothes suck."

Sasuke shrugged. "This is Itachi's, so I guess I can't judge you. So, dobe, where are we going first?"

"To the front of the apartment to wait for Deidara, I hope," Kisame growled. He herded them onto the elevator before whipping out his cell phone and calling the long-haired blonde. "He's out front already."

When they emerged from the building, Kisame took off immediately, completely ignoring Deidara's greeting. "What a jerk, hn," Deidara mumbled.

Sasuke narrowed his eyes, hating having a bodyguard following him everywhere. "Deidara, this is Naruto. Naruto, this is Deidara."

"Ah, nice to meet you," Naruto said, holding out his hand.

"Hn." Deidara held out his hand and squeezed. When he let go, Naruto stared at the tattoo of an open mouth on Deidara's palm. Ignoring the stare, Deidara pointed at the car behind him and said, "If you need to go anywhere, I can drive you…hn."

Naruto stared at the car. He wasn't used to having a car available to him. Most of what was in Konoha was within walking distance, and if it wasn't, the public bus would take you there. "Ah, no, thank you, Deidara-san. We'll be fine."

Gaara looked up from the book he was reading at the register when he heard the bell above the shop tinkling. He stared at Naruto and Sasuke, unable to tear his eyes from the gorgeous pair.

Naruto was wearing jeans that fit snugly around his ass with a shirt the exact same color as his eyes. He wore an orange belt with matching Converses. A thin black ribbon ran around his neck with a little bell attached to the front, jingling softly every time he moved.

Sasuke wore black pants and a purple and black striped sleeveless hoodie that clung lightly to his frame. He had on black sneakers with thin purple stripes and a rainbow belt. A black and white hat had been drawn low over his eyes to deter anyone recognizing him, and Gaara's breath caught in his throat when Sasuke removed it.

Basically, the two were walking sex.

"Hey, Gaara," Naruto called, walking over to him. "Hinata said she wanted to meet with me here before we took off. Is she here yet?"

Hinata emerged from the back room carrying two cups of coffee. She froze when she spied the pair, her face turning pink. She set the coffees on the counter before pulling a camera out of her bag and taking a picture.

"A—Ano… Where are you taking him, Naru-kun?" Hinata had turned even redder and was tapping her index fingers together anxiously.

"I can't tell you," Naruto answered, grinning. "It's a secret." Hinata's eyes narrowed, and the blonde felt a chill run down his spine. "Then again, I suppose I could…" He leaned down and whispered for several seconds in her ear. When he drew away, they both had identical grins.

"Well, you'd better get going, Naru-kun," she said giddily, "or you'll run out of time."

"Was that all you wanted, Hina-chan?" Naruto asked, bemused.

She winked and held up the camera. "And the picture, Naru-kun. Now, get going!"

Naruto laughed. "All right, all right! See you later, Gaara, Hina-chan!"

Naruto took Sasuke by the hand and led him from the bookstore. They started walking in a direction Sasuke didn't know, even though he began to recognize some of the shops after a while. "Ano…," Sasuke asked softly. "Where are we going?"

Naruto grinned and pointed at Inuzuka's Pet Shop. "Kiba finally managed to convince me to get a pet. I wanted to show her to you. Kiba's bringing her over later, so she'll be there tonight—you're still sleeping over tonight, right?"

Sasuke nodded. "Of course."

Naruto's smile somehow managed to grow larger. "Great!"

Akamaru welcomed the pair enthusiastically, running energetically between their legs as they tried to walk. "Ah! Naruto! Sasuke!" Kiba called as he came in from the back room. "You here to see her?"

"You bet I am!" Naruto cried, pumping his fist excitedly in the air. "Ano, Sasuke, maybe you can even help me name her!"

Kiba walked over to a large cage in the corner and pulled out a grey kitten before placing it gently in Naruto's arms. Akamaru barked loudly, running around in circles around Naruto trying to sniff the kitten. "Isn't she adorable?" Naruto asked breathlessly.

The kitten opened its wide eyes and Sasuke was startled to see its eyes were as brilliant blue as Naruto's. He held up a cautious hand before laying it gently on the kitten's head. "Sora…," he said softly.

"Sorry?" Naruto asked, confused.

"Ah," Sasuke withdrew his hand and blushed slightly. "Ano… You could name her Sora—sky. Her eyes are blue, like yours…like the sky."

"Oh, yeah… I guess they are…"

"I—I know it's typically a boy's name—"

Naruto grinned. "That's all right. Sora won't know the difference."

Sasuke met Naruto's smile, and suddenly Kiba knew exactly what Hinata was talking about: When they looked at each other, worlds stopped moving. He was amazed they hadn't realized the other's love yet; they were so obvious about it!

Kiba cleared his throat, and the boys unwillingly tore their eyes away from each other to look at Kiba. He held out his arms for the kitten and said, "So, I'll bring him by your apartment, say…10? Will you be home by then?"

Naruto shrugged before giving up the kitten. "I'll call you when we're heading back. Oh, and I borrowed a litter box from Temari. Remember her cat, Devil?"

Kiba growled. He rolled up his right sleeve and showed four three-inch long scars. "How could I forget that little shit? You have no idea how happy I was when it ran away. It's probably presiding over kitty hell as we speak."

Naruto laughed. "You'd better not let Temari hear you say that. She'd resurrect Devil from its grave and let its little kitty soul haunt you for the rest of your life." He glanced back at Sasuke. "Well, Kiba, we'll be going now. See you around."

When they headed toward the bus station, Deidara reminded him once again that he had a car. Naruto rolled his eyes. "Car, shmar, we're taking the bus."

When they arrived, Sasuke raised an eyebrow skeptically. "An art museum?"

Naruto stuck out his tongue. "Trust me, it'll be fun. Besides, it's not just paintings and sculptures. They have all sorts of different things in here, including a wax sculpture exhibit and all sorts of things you would never think of as art. Oh! And you can't live in Konoha until have your face put on the mural! _Everyone _has their face put on the mural! There's over six generations of faces on this one wall. Even the painters of the mural have stayed within the same family! Here, it's over here… Aw, damn, he's here today."

Sasuke looked up and saw a boy around their age with a paintbrush staring hard at a Polaroid. He had skin and hair the same shades as Sasuke, but that's where the similarities ended. The boy was wearing large painter's pants that hung low around his hips and a grey wife beater that showed off plenty of midriff. "Him?"

Naruto nodded curtly. "Yeah, that's Sai. He's the current muralist. He's also a total jackass."

Sai turned and smiled at them, waving. "He seems nice," Sasuke started to say when Sai called, "Hey, dickweed!"

Naruto growled, his eyes narrowing to slits. They took on a reddish hue, and Sasuke was painfully reminded of Itachi. "Hey, Sai," he snarled. "Look, Sasuke's new in town. I was just going to take his picture, and then we'll get out of here."

Sasuke ignored the tension between the two as he began scanning the mural. "Naruto, where are you?"

Naruto pointed out his smiling replica on the wall. "Sai's father painted it because _Sai _refused to."

Sai rolled his eyes. "I don't paint pictures of men with abnormally small dicks."

Naruto clenched his fists. "How about I shove it up your ass, and then we'll see how fucking small my dick is!"

"I doubt I'd even feel it."

"Teme…!!"

Sasuke grabbed onto the back of Naruto's shirt to hold him back from attacking Sai. "Naruto! Come on, calm down!"

Still growling, Naruto relented before grabbing the camera, snapping a quick picture of Sasuke, and thrusting the still developing Polaroid toward Sai. Sasuke found himself being dragged off by the blonde and into the heart of the museum. Naruto didn't stop until they had reached the wax exhibit. By that time, he was in a decidedly better mood and gleefully pointed out the different important historical figures of Konoha history.

"And that one's Sarutobi-sama! He was one of the best governors of Konoha! He died a few years ago, and literally everyone turned up for his funeral. His grandson is starting elementary school this year, and he really took his death hard…

"Ah! And that's Jiraya! You know, the one who writes pervy novels? Well, he made this large donation to the city. The money was used to build a new library and fix up a lot of the public schools."

Sasuke smiled happily as Naruto prattled on and on about the different figures, giving his own insight into their lives that was much more interesting than what the curator had typed out on the little placards.

Naruto glanced as his watch before grabbing Sasuke's wrist and practically running toward the opposite end of the museum. "Ah! We're going to miss it! It only runs once a day, and it'll start in two minutes!"

They stopped suddenly at a railing and looked downward. There was a large statue over three stories tall of a large fox with nine tails. Sasuke could see hundreds of people looking at the statue from the floor below, but the floor above extended over the statue. They were level with the fox's tails, yet Sasuke could see its large head with large fangs in great detail.

"I wish we were on one of the lower levels," Naruto pouted. "You don't really get the full effect from up here, but at least it's not as crowded."

Naruto was right, Sasuke realized; the crowd below outnumbered their floor ten to one.

"Oh! It's starting!"

Sasuke jumped when the statue was suddenly engulfed in red light and the mouth began to open. The head thrashed back and forth, and an angry growl erupted from its throat. The red light deepened, seemingly coming from the statue itself. The head lurched forward, and the teeth snapped at the crowd below. This continued for a few minutes before the light faded and the fox became a mere statue once more.

"Wasn't that cool?" Naruto asked excitedly. "I came up with the idea, you know, from a dream I had. Nightmare, really. My—" His voice dropped and he stared at the floor. "My dad made it. It was in the museum for over a year when he decided he wanted to add some more detail to it. He climbed the ladder and didn't even start carving when someone accidentally hit the switch. He couldn't climb down the ladder fast enough, and the fox's head pushed the ladder, and he fell three stories. One of the last things he said before he died… He made the curator promise he would still keep the statue running every day." He looked up and tried on a fake grin. "G—Gomen, it's depressing."

Sasuke reached out and touched Naruto's arm softly. "Iie, it's all right."

"My mom died during childbirth, so it had always been just me and my dad. I was put into foster care, but I collected some money and got out about last year." He rubbed the back of his head nervously and tried to smile once more. "Ah, but you—you don't want to hear about that. Hey! It's almost one! Let's go grab some lunch…"

Sasuke stared sadly at Naruto but didn't want to press the matter. He felt that when the time came, Naruto would tell him more about his family. After all, Sasuke himself had hardly said a word about his own family—outside Itachi, anyway.

Naruto grabbed more food than Sasuke could eat in an entire day. "Gomen," he said, rubbing the back of his head with his free hand. "I didn't have any breakfast. I'm _starving_." Sasuke laughed before grabbing a salad and a vitamin water. "Great… Way to make me feel like a fat ass." He grabbed two more slices of pizza and tossed them on one of his plates. They paid for their food and sat down.

"So, you having a good time so far?" Naruto asked between bites of pizza.

"Of course, dobe," answered Sasuke.

They wandered through the rest of the museum until after five o'clock. Naruto glanced at his watch and jumped. "Oh, man! We're gonna miss it!" They rushed past the entrance, but Naruto skidded to a halt by the mural. "Oh! Sai's not here anymore! Let's go find your picture!"

Sasuke smiled as Naruto began pointing out the pictures of his friends. "Look! Here's Haku and Zabuza… They had their picture made when they first started dating. Oh! And here's Hinata and Neji and their parents and Hinata's little sister. Actually, this is like the Hyuuga section. And here's Kiba and his sister Hana. Oh, and here's Gaara and Temari and Kankuro, and their dad. He was a drunk, and they don't really like to associate themselves with him, but what can you do? Oh, and here's my mom and dad…"

Sasuke touched his finger to Naruto's dad's portrait. "He looks just like you…"

Naruto shifted awkwardly. "Yeah, I get that a lot… Oh! Look where you are!" Sasuke started when he saw his likeness painted on the wall next to Naruto's face. Naruto wrapped his arms around Sasuke from behind and said softly, "I can't think of a better place…"

Naruto suddenly blushed and stepped backward, rubbing the back of his head. "Ano sa, ano sa!" he said nervously. "There's a bus that leaves in ten minutes. We can make it if we leave now."

"Where are we going?"

The blonde held up a finger to his lips. "Just wait until we get there. It's a surprise."

They sat in comfortable silence on the bus ride to the far end of Konoha. Sasuke saw the lake where they had eaten lunch what seemed eons ago and felt at peace with himself and the rest of the world. He looked up when Naruto nudged him and saw Deidara surrounded by a group of teenage girls and couldn't help but laugh.

Once the disembarked from the bus, they walked several blocks until they arrived at a carnival. Sasuke assumed they would keep walking and stared suspiciously when Naruto bought three tickets.

"You've got to be kidding me."

Naruto shrugged. "Well, we're not going in just yet because we already missed the opening ceremony… Every day at five-thirty, they have this show with the animals, and it's really cool. But first! Dinner! I bought our tickets now because they go up at six. But…I'm not eating carnival food for dinner. Come on. I made reservations."

Sasuke was impressed. "Wow. You really have this day all planned out. I kind of took you as one who just goes through life, no plans, just taking things as they come to you."

Naruto laughed nervously. "Yeah, well… That describes me exactly. Today is an exception. I don't know if I'll be able to do it again, though. Being under time restraints is making me so fucking anxious."

They arrived outside Byakugan, one of the fanciest restaurants in Konoha. Naruto glanced down at his outfit. "I think they'll set me in this. Last time, I almost got kicked out, but I was being kind of a bitch. I had on ripped jeans, and I had just rolled down a hill so I had mud and grass stains all over my shirt. But Hinata and Neji's family owns this restaurant, and Hinata rescued me in the end…but she made me change my clothes."

"Oh."

They entered the restaurant and Naruto greeted the receptionist anxiously. "H—Hello, Hyuuga-san. I have a reservation for three…"

Even Sasuke shifted anxiously under Hyuuga-san's pearly white stare. Finally, after what seemed like hours, he said, "Nice to see you again, Uzumaki-san. Neji-kun is working tonight. I'll seat you in his section."

"A—Ah, Arigatou, Hyuuga-san."

Neji arrived at their table and took their drink orders. "Naruto-kun, Sasuke-kun, it's nice to see you." He noticed Deidara, who was unused to interacting with those he was bodyguarding and looked awkward. "Who's your friend? Where's Pein?"

"This is Deidara," Sasuke said moodily, purposefully looking in the opposite direction.

Deidara winked at Neji. "What time do you get off work?"

Neji raised an eyebrow and gave him a scathing look. "Sorry, I'm not interested in you," he said simply before walking off."

Naruto and Sasuke simultaneously picked up their menus to hide their laughter, but they could still feel Deidara's glare.

They slowly made their way through their three-course meal, Naruto chatting endlessly with Deidara chiming in a time or two and Sasuke staying silent for the most part, merely smiling and nodding and just enjoying the sound of Naruto's voice.

When it was time to pay the check, Naruto flagged down Neji. "I'll get the bill, Sasuke," he said.

"Don't worry about it, Naruto," said Neji, giving the faintest of a wink. "It's on the house."

"Eeeehhhh?" Naruto asked, eyeing Neji suspiciously. "Why?"

Neji shrugged. "Sa ne? Ask Hinata the next time you see her."

Grateful he could keep his money yet still suspicious, the trio left, Naruto waving good-bye to Hyuuga-san as they exited.

It was nearing seven o'clock by the time they made it back to the fair, and the sun was just beginning to set. Naruto led Sasuke to the edge of the carnival where there was a fence surrounding the lake. The image of the setting sun was mirrored perfectly in the lake's surface, and Sasuke gasped at the sight.

"It's so…beautiful."

"Yeah…" Naruto, however, was not looking at the setting sun but at the porcelain beauty beside him. Sasuke's dark hair was framed by the glow of the setting sun, giving it a reddish orange hue. He slipped his hand into the brunette's and smiled when he felt him squeeze back. "The most beautiful I've ever seen…"

The sun was nearly three-quarters of the way past the horizon when Naruto finally snapped out of his trance. "Oh!" he shouted. "When the sun's fully set, they set off the fireworks!" He gestured at the crowd surrounding them. "They think this is the best place to watch them—and I mean, it's a good spot, being over the lake and all—but I've found an even better spot. Come on!" Naruto led Sasuke to the center of the park to the largest Ferris wheel Sasuke had ever seen. "You're not afraid of heights, are you?" Naruto asked worriedly.

Sasuke shook his head. "No, just lightening."

Naruto turned toward Deidara. "We're getting on the Ferris wheel. You can wait for us down here, I suppose."

Deidara nodded. "You said fireworks, right?"

Naruto noticed the excited glint in his eye and suddenly remembered what Kisame had said about the blonde liking explosions. "Oh—ha, yeah. But, they set them off across the lake, so…"

"Oh." Deidara looked downcast.

"Right…"

Sasuke noticed that they were nearly the only ones still walking around the carnival as most everyone had made their way to the edge of the lake. There were six other people in line for the Ferris wheel, each of them couples. He blushed when he realized his hand was still in Naruto's but made no move to take it back.

They had looped around three times before the fireworks started. When their car was at the top, the Ferris wheel suddenly ground to a halt. At first, Sasuke thought it was an accident, but Naruto squeezed his hand reassuringly. "They always stop the Ferris wheel when the fireworks start. It'll take us back down when they're over."

"Oh." Sasuke relaxed.

From where they were, they could see the fireworks in the sky as well as reflected on the lake. Naruto, however, wasn't watching the display—in the sky or on the water. He watched as Sasuke's hair lit up with the different colors, first blue, then green, then purple…

Sasuke turned in the seat and met Naruto's eyes. "N—Naruto—I…" He looked down at his hand still clasped in Naruto's. "I—" Gathering his courage, he managed to look the blonde in the eye. "I…I had a really great time today. It was really nice of you to take me out."

Naruto's grin broke out across his face. "Ha, it's no problem, Sasuke!" His cheeks grew red. "Ano sa… Actually, Sasuke… I—" He took a deep breath, closed his eyes, and said in a rush, "I really, really, really like you, Sasuke, and I was wondering if you would be my boyfriend." He cracked open one eye and, expecting Sasuke to be disgusted, was surprised to see the brunette smiling widely.

"I—I really like you, too, Naruto," Sasuke answered breathlessly, "and I would love to be your boyfriend."

Naruto's grin somehow grew even wider. "A—Ano… Would it be a total cliché if I kissed you right now?"

Sasuke didn't bother to answer. He scooted forward and pressed his lips to the taller boy's. Naruto wrapped his free hand in Sasuke's hair, unwilling to let go of his hand as if afraid if he let go, he would lose him. They broke apart after several seconds, both wearing identical grins.

Suddenly emboldened and grinning wickedly, Sasuke asked, "Ne, Naruto… They can't see us from the ground, can they?"

Naruto shook his head, missing Sasuke's expression. "No, I don't think so. Why?"

Sasuke swung his leg over Naruto's, straddling him. He placed his hands on the back of the Ferris wheel carriage on either side of Naruto's head and answered, "Because I want this moment to be just between the two of us."

Naruto moaned, his cock already hardening. "God, Sasuke, you have no idea how beautiful you are…"

Sasuke grinned and ground slightly into the man underneath him, loving the sounds he was eliciting. "Right back at you, dobe." He closed the distance between their mouths and immediately slipped his tongue into Naruto's mouth.

Naruto's hands disappeared under Sasuke's shirt, and he rubbed light circles along his back. Sasuke's hands were buried into Naruto's blonde locks and pulling their faces together as closely as possible without it hurting.

By the time they broke apart, they were panting for air, and the Ferris wheel was moving again. Sasuke slipped off Naruto's lap and rested his head on his shoulder.

"Naruto," he said softly by his ear. "I don't know how I ever lived without you."

Naruto rested his cheek upon the soft, black hair. "Right back at you, Sasuke." He turned slightly and placed a light kiss on his head. "I love you."

Sasuke lifted his head and met Naruto's eyes. "I love you, too, Naruto…"

:D Wasn't it sooooo cuuuuute?? There's more, though. The next chapter, though. :)

Wanna review?? :)


	8. I Wish All Sleepovers Were Like This

Goodness! I try to keep the author's notes to a minimum within the fic and get everything I have to say about it out before and after the body of the fic, buuuut….ahh! I have so many things to say! I want to comment on _everything_! I'm that kind of kid who talks during movies, too. (Although, I don't so much in the theater. I at least have _some _sort of etiquette!) I talk incessantly during horror movies, though, so I don't get as scared by making fun of the background characters and all around silliness of most horror movies. Although, I saw this one horror movie in theaters, and not even kidding, even though there were only about 10 people in the theater and we were spread out, we were all talking to the screen and to each other. It was amazing. I highly suggest it. (And then my friend Lisa jumped at this one part and Skittles went _EVERYWHERE_!! :O)

…Ahem. So, anyway, I just want to say THANK YOU!! to all of my reviewers. :) Thanks a million to Raining-Roses, cadywise, icyhiei, MarinaDelRay, xJacksonx, Alicefreak, xxemogoddessxx, Irukanooshiri, Jade Rose, Stupid-Neko, SEXY SESSHY, Nanin (I'm glad I made your day :)), hisoka kurosaki, write me no lies (Thanks so much for the tip! I went back to chapter two and fixed it. I have a list of little details throughout the story, but I guess I missed that one… x.x), Kirai, Nickles, WordSlave, Mino (Yay! I love magic cookies! :)), SamuraiSaaya, Annieme, and Angel!! For serious, you guys mean the world to me. I wouldn't be able to get on without you. :)

Also, so many of you asked, but…the popsicle scene is this chapter. Don't worry; their date's not over yet! ;)

-

_Chapter 8: I Wish All Sleepovers Were Like This_

Sasuke pulled on Naruto's hand outside of the convenience store, urging him to stop. "Ah, Naruto… Do you have any popsicles at your apartment?"

Naruto stared at him as if he had grown horns. "Did you have enough at dinner? I'm still stuffed!"

Sasuke grinned sheepishly, wondering if Gaara's advice was indeed worth the calories. However, something told him that, yes, yes it was. "I don't know… I'm just having a craving. Besides, what else should we eat if we haven't fallen asleep and it's three o'clock in the morning?"

"Hmm, good point…"

They entered the convenience store, and Naruto greeted Asuma-san, who was smoking a cigarette and looking rather bored.

"Ah! Naruto-kun!" he greeted back. "You seem…different. Happier, somehow, if that's even possible."

"I have a boyfriend!" Naruto announced. Sasuke blushed and went to get the popsicles.

Asuma stared after the pale brunette, his smile shining through his eyes. "Ehhh? Really, Naruto-kun? Well, congratulations. You two make a very cute couple. I guess now's not the time to tell you that Kurenai-san and I are getting married next August, is it?"

Naruto's face lit up. "REALLY, ASUMA-SAN?! That's great news!! Congratulations, Asuma-san!! I knew you had it in you to propose!!"

Asuma blushed and tapped the ash from the tip of his cigarette into a green ashtray. "Ah, actually, Naruto-kun…Kurenai-san finally got fed up with waiting for me to ask, so she proposed to me. It was actually sort of embarrassing, really. She made this huge deal in the middle of Byakugan about me not having the balls to—"

"EEEEHHHHHH??" Naruto interrupted, slamming his hands down on the counter and leaning toward Asuma, who drew back in surprise. "Sasuke and I were at Byakugan!! I didn't see you!! When were you there??"

Asuma smiled, knowing that even if he told the boisterous blonde to keep his voice down, it would fall on deaf ears…much as his own felt at that moment. "We had reservations for five and left at around six."

"Huh, that's around the same time Sasuke and I got there… I wonder why Neji didn't mention it…"

Asuma glanced at Sasuke, who was holding out the box of popsicles and blushing. "Is that all for you, Sasuke-kun?"

Still blushing, Sasuke nodded before digging his wallet out of his pants and slapping a few bills on the counter. He took his change and the box back from Asuma and practically dragged Naruto back to the apartment.

-

Naruto slid the popsicles into his freezer as he waited for Sasuke to come back over with sleepover materials. On the way back to the apartment, he had called Kiba, who said he'd bring Sora over as soon as he finished taking Akamaru for his walk. Naruto danced a little jig in the middle of his kitchen, wondering how his day could get any better.

Next door, Sasuke was halfway through throwing a few things into a duffel bag when he heard moans coming from his brother's room. Having rather liked Kisame a lot better than anyone else his brother had brought home, he had been rather crushed when they had broken up that morning. However, after hearing the pleasure-filled moans coming through the walls, Sasuke breathed a sigh of relief. At least Kisame had at least been decent to the younger Uchiha; no Kisame meant the possibility of Itachi hooking up with someone like Orochimaru—

He froze when he heard Itachi moan something that was unmistakably _not _Kisame. He shook his head, really hoping he had heard incorrectly. But then he heard it again.

"D—Deidara!"

Furious that Itachi felt the need to fuck every bodyguard Sasuke had ever had, he grabbed a few blankets, shoving them into the duffel bag and shouldering it, and his pillow. He hastily scrawled a note to his brother about where he would be and left it on the kitchen counter.

Sasuke painfully realized that the only reason Itachi fucked his bodyguards in the first place was to have complete control over his little brother. By marking the bodyguards as his, they would be more willing to relay every little detail about Sasuke's life to him—and be even more willing to help his plan of making his little brother's life a living hell.

He let himself into Naruto's apartment. Naruto jumped when he noticed Sasuke's sour expression. "Whoa! What happened?"

"Itachi's fucking Deidara," he spat.

Naruto's eyes widened. "What? _No_! What about Kisame? Oh, he's going to be _crushed_!"

They were unable to finish their conversation when there was a knock on Naruto's door. "A—Ah… Sasuke, just toss your stuff in my room. I bet it's Kiba. He said he was on his way to bring Sora over…"

He opened the door, and the dog thrust the grey kitten into his arms. Akamaru leaped around Kiba's feet, trying to get to the kitten. "Damn dog's been driving me crazy," Kiba growled. "He seemed to think that _I _was keeping the cat, even though I _explained _to him that I was bringing it for you!"

Naruto rolled his eyes. "Kiba, when will you learn that Akamaru doesn't understand English?"

Kiba rolled his eyes back. "When you learn that he totally does!" He looked down at Akamaru, who had calmed down now that Naruto was holding the enemy. "Hey, Akamaru, when we get home, I'll give you a treat." Akamaru was halfway down the apartment steps before Kiba could even blink. "Ahh!! Akamaru!! Bye, Naruto!!" In a flash, Kiba was racing down the stairs after his pet.

Naruto closed the front door with his foot and nuzzled his cheek against the kitten's soft fur. Sora purred and immediately fell asleep in his arms. He knocked a blanket from the couch to the floor and placed Sora on top of it. She yawned before curling up into an even tighter ball.

"She's so cute," Sasuke whispered from behind Naruto, surprising himself. When was the last time he had ever called something cute…?

"Just like you," Naruto said, turning around to face his boyfriend.

Sasuke pouted. "I'm not 'cute.'"

"Yes, you are," Naruto said before kissing him.

When they broke apart, Sasuke said, "All right, fine, I'm cute."

Naruto laughed. He lay down on the couch before pulling a surprised Sasuke on top of him. "Comfy?"

Sasuke snuggled deeper into the warmth that was Naruto. "Mm-hmm. Very."

Naruto grabbed the remote from where it had fallen on the floor and turned on the television before absent-mindedly flipping through the channels. Not really finding anything in particular, he stopped on a movie channel, resigning himself to watching something that people in Konohamaru's age group would enjoy.

"…Are we seriously going to watch this?" Sasuke asked, turning around to look at Naruto curiously.

Naruto flipped Sasuke the rest of the way over so that he was laying face down on top of him. "Are we going to watch this?" Naruto repeated, pretending to seriously think it over. "The only think I'm going to watch is your tongue going down my throat."

Sasuke didn't wait a second longer before giving Naruto exactly what he wanted and shoving his tongue as far into the blonde's mouth as it could go. He rubbed his hardening cock against Naruto's already very prominent arousal, moaning. Naruto tugged on Sasuke's shirt, trying to get it off over his head without breaking the kiss, but failing. While they were apart, Sasuke removed Naruto's shirt, too, as well as the black ribbon with the bell from his neck. The moment the articles of clothing were gone, their lips were locked once more, and their hands freely roamed over the other's body.

Sasuke moved from Naruto's mouth across his jaw line and attached to his neck, sucking hard. He moved from point to point adding different pressures in order to hear the varying levels of moans he was eliciting from the blonde. Finally sated with the neck, he moved on to the collarbone.

Naruto arched upward when Sasuke's wet lips found his left nipple. "A—Ah!! Sasuke!!"

Sasuke used his right hand to play with Naruto's right nipple while his tongue, lips, and teeth played with the other. Naruto was bucking his hips upward furiously, trying to gain some sort of friction against his aching cock. Once Naruto's nipples were hard, Sasuke moved back up to his mouth, cutting his name off mid-syllable.

The movie was already over and another one had just started when they finally ended their make-out session. They both had identical lopsided grins, and when they stood up, they found they couldn't walk in a straight line without falling over.

"I—I'm going to get a…a popsicle, yeah," announced Sasuke, giggling.

Naruto, giving up on staying vertical, fell back onto the couch. "All right. Get me one, too, please."

Sasuke stumbled into the kitchen, using the wall to steady himself more than once. His legs had somehow turned to Jell-O, and though it was a somewhat unpleasant feeling, it was definitely worth it. He would _kill _to feel Naruto's lips against his, their warm bodies flush against one another's, his hard cock pressed into his stomach—

He grabbed onto the freezer handle to steady himself, trying to stifle the moan threatening to take over his whole body. Just a taste, and he was already addicted. If Brussels sprout companies could harness that sort of addictive power, every child in the world would eat their vegetables.

He pulled a strawberry- and an orange-flavored popsicle out of the box in the freezer and walked a bit more steadily back to the couch where Naruto was once more flipping through channels.

"Mmm, thanks," Naruto said as he took the orange popsicle from Sasuke. He stopped flipping channels on the Food Network as he struggled to open his popsicle. Sasuke merely watched as Naruto struggled for several seconds trying to get the wrapper open, finally succumbing to using his teeth. With a quasi-evil grin, Sasuke opened his popsicle in one try and slid the entire thing into his mouth.

Naruto's jaw dropped as the frozen treat slid all the way to the back of Sasuke's throat. He swallowed hard as he watched Sasuke's lips curl tightly around the popsicle as he slid it slowly out of his mouth. He could only imagine his tongue licking all over the popsicle to get the ice coating off it because when the treat was fully out, it was much smaller than when it had started.

Sasuke eyed Naruto curiously. "Naruto… You're dripping."

Naruto glanced at his popsicle and saw a thin line of orange juice running down his hand. He licked the melted syrup off his hand before sucking on his own popsicle. He stared as Sasuke deep-throated his popsicle several more times and thinking of it. As he watched, he subconsciously began sucking on his own popsicle so hard that it broke apart in his mouth. Startled, he jumped up off the couch and began fanning his hand at his mouth, shouting, "Cold! Cold! Cold!" as best he could with his mouth full.

Sasuke, who had just finished his own popsicle, couldn't help but laugh as Naruto ran into the kitchen. Sora looked up from her blanket before jumping up as well and dashing after Naruto.

Naruto spit the popsicle into the sink and turned on the warm water. He stuck his face under the faucet until his mouth had defrosted. Sora mewled at his feet, looking up curiously with her enormous blue eyes. Naruto smiled down at his new kitten, but froze when he turned around. Apparently, he had been making so much noise at the sink that he hadn't heard a certain black-haired someone walk into the kitchen and get another popsicle out of the freezer. He groaned as Sasuke deep-throated this damn lucky popsicle as well, having to lean against the counter for support.

Sasuke slid the frozen treat from his lips and stared curiously at Naruto. "Umm… I don't get it. Why are you looking at me like that?"

Naruto stared back, his jaw dropping once more. "Y—You mean you're not doing that on purpose, just to torture the shit out of me?"

"…I don't…think so…" He tilted his head curiously. "Why? What am I doing?"

Afraid that Sasuke would stop if he told him, he merely shook his head, rubbing the back of his head anxiously. "No, no, it's nothing."

Sasuke waited a few more seconds to see if Naruto would say anything else. When he didn't, Sasuke slipped the popsicle back into his mouth, happily sucking away.

"…I'll be right back."

Sasuke watched, confused, as Naruto suddenly dashed to the bathroom. Sora attempted to follow, but she gave up and went back into the living room to curl back up on her blanket.

After finishing his popsicle and watching the Food Network for several minutes, Sasuke grew curious about why the blonde had dashed off so suddenly. He was also curious about why both Gaara and Naruto acted the way they did about the popsicle and had half a mind to kiss the answer out of him. He stood up quickly and made his way to the bathroom. Steeling himself, he knocked three times.

However, in his rush, Naruto had forgotten to lock the bathroom door. The door swung open. Sasuke felt first his face turn red and would have sworn the blush extended all the way to his toes. Naruto was arched against the bathroom wall, stroking himself. He probably could have passed this off as something nonsexual had it not been for his intense orgasm the moment his eyes locked with Sasuke's.

"Aaaahh—oh God oh God oh fuck fuck—"

Naruto grabbed onto the sink for support, cumming all over the cupboards, letting Sasuke's name slip through his lips, even though he tried his best not to—at least not goddamn right in front of him!

After his world was level again, Naruto slipped his dick back into his pants. Clearing his throat and trying to pass it off as if nothing had happened but just as red as Sasuke, he said awkwardly, "So, uh… I'll clean up here. Umm… I'll be"—he cleared his throat once more—"I'll be out in a minute…"

Sasuke's brain shut off. Before he could stop himself, his lips were pressed against Naruto's, his hands were tangled in his shirt pulling them closer together, and his right leg was between Naruto's.

They broke apart, panting. Naruto rested his forehead against Sasuke's and couldn't help but smile. "God, Sasuke, I love you so much… You have no idea what you do to me."

Smirking, Sasuke took Naruto's already hardened cock in his hand. "Oh, I think I have a pretty good idea."

He pushed his hand slowly up Naruto's cock, shivering from the long, deep moan he elicited. Spots flashed before his eyes when he felt Naruto's rough, warm hand envelop his own manhood. His head fell forward onto Naruto's shoulder. His hand tightened, and he began stroking faster and simultaneously thrusting into Naruto's hand.

"Fuuuuck… Sasuke!!" Naruto latched his lips on the shorter man's neck for a few seconds before pulling off to say, "Fuck, I just came, and I'm about to cum again."

Sasuke was panting so heavily, he was unable to form a complete word. "Na—Na… Fu… Aaaauuunnngggh…. Ha—Hard…er… AAaahh!!"

Without warning, Sasuke came. He threw his head back and screamed Naruto's name. The second he finished his orgasm, he was suddenly on his knees and the head of Naruto's cock had hit the back of his throat.

Caught by surprise, Naruto looked down and came hard at the sight of Sasuke's nose pressed against his abdomen. "AAAHHhh!! Fuck fuck fuck Sa—SA—SASUKE!!"

Sasuke deep throated Naruto until he had completed his orgasm. Naruto grabbed him roughly by the front of his shirt and pulled him up, kissing him deeply, loving the taste of himself on Sasuke's lips.

Sasuke's legs gave out underneath him, and he grabbed hold of Naruto for support. "Oh my God, I've never cum so hard in my life…"

"Me neither," Naruto answered, kissing Sasuke's slightly sweaty hair. "Hey… Why don't you go climb into bed, and I'll clean up in here. Toss your clothes outside the door, and I'll put them in the wash, okay?"

Sasuke nodded, suddenly feeling exhausted. He stumbled into Naruto's room, removed his clothes, and put on a fresh pair of boxers before climbing into the bed. He grabbed Naruto's body pillow and snuggled against it, loving how it smelled just like its owner.

After Naruto had cleaned up the bathroom, he took off his own clothes, grabbed Sasuke's, and dumped everything into the washing machine. He heard Sora paw around in the litter box and was glad his kitten had found it. After making sure Sora's food and water bowls were full, he stumbled into his room, threw on a pair of boxers, and curled up in his bed, wrapping his arms tightly around his boyfriend's waist.

-

Naruto shifted restlessly when he felt someone straddling his pelvis. He felt a _very_ wet tongue lick his cheeks, eyelids, nose, forehead…

"Sasuke…?" He cracked open his eyes and yelped when Akamaru's tongue attacked him again.

He felt someone grind their hips into his and heard Sasuke say, "Get up, sleepy head. It's almost ten o'clock…"

"Wha…?" He shook his head, trying to wake up the rest of the way as well as trying to get his face away from Akamaru. "Is—Is Kiba here?"

"Yeah," answered Sasuke, rolling off him and (thankfully, Naruto mentally added) bringing Akamaru with him. "Kiba, Hinata, Neji, Shikamaru, and Gaara. They brought breakfast, but if you don't get out of bed soon, it will be all gone." He blinked, but Naruto was already in the kitchen at the promise of food.

Hinata blushed when Naruto burst into the kitchen dressed only in his boxers, but the others merely brushed it off as normal.

"Itadakimaaaaaaaasu!" Naruto shouted before stuffing several doughnuts into his mouth at once. He grabbed a few muffins and separated them from the rest. "Nobody eat these!" he tried to say around the doughnuts still in his mouth. "I'm going to get a shower. These better be here when I get back!!"

"Whatever, Naruto," Kiba called from the couch. Just go get your smelly ass in that shower."

Naruto skidded to a halt outside his room, where Sasuke was sitting on the bed petting Akamaru. The blonde grabbed the dog and kissed him on the head before setting him on the floor. "A little privacy, please?" Akamaru seemed to understand, and left the pair alone, presumably to go Sora hunting.

Naruto straddled Sasuke's lap and kissed him softly. "Sorry about the jelly doughnut taste," Naruto mumbled. Sasuke laughed, and Naruto realized suddenly how much he loved that sound. Wanting to hear more of it, he began tickling the brunette underneath him, who squealed and tried unsuccessfully to push Naruto off him.

"Na—Naruto!" he managed between giggles. "St—Stop it! I h—hate being t—tickled!"

"Oh?" smirked Naruto evilly. "Do you?"

The tickling ended with Sasuke lying back on the bed and Naruto propped up on his hands over him. They were both smiling, and Naruto placed a light kiss on his nose.

"Ne, ne!" Naruto suddenly said, his evil grin still in place. "I have to take a shower. Have you already taken one?"

Sasuke nodded. "Yeah, I woke up at eight thirty and took one then."

"Oh. …Want to take another one?"

Sasuke blushed, suddenly understanding Naruto's implications. "Oh. Umm… Naruto, I—I don't know if I'm…you know, ready…"

Naruto pressed another kiss on his nose. "Ne, ne, Sasuke, it's okay. No pressure. Just know that you're always invited." He pulled Sasuke into a hug. "Just know that I respect your boundaries, okay? And know that I'm, you know, _available _for anything, anytime, anywhere."

Sasuke hugged back. "Thank-you so much, Uzumaki Naruto. You mean the world to me. I love you."

"I love you, too."

Sasuke was smirking when they pulled apart. "Oh, and by the way, I saw the nearly full bottle of peach-scented soap in your shower. Did Hinata put you up to that?"

Naruto laughed. "Yeah, she did. She even went out and bought it for me." He stood up and stretched. "Oh, Sasuke? Could you do me a favor? Could you go get my mail for me? I haven't gotten it in a few days, and I should probably make sure I don't owe anyone any money."

"All right. Where's the key to your mailbox?"

Naruto walked over to his dresser and picked up a silver key and a small fox made out of dango sticks. "Here's my key, and I wanted to show you this. I bought this fox from Anko. Isn't it cute?"

Sasuke smiled. "Yeah… Yeah it is."

-

When Naruto finished his shower, he made his way into his living room and stopped dead in his tracks. "Ano… Why does everyone look so serious?"

Hinata pointed to his room. "A—Ano, Naruto-kun… Sasuke came back with the mail, and everything was fine until… Well, he started looking through a magazine, and his face grew paler and paler and now—well, you'd probably better go check on him…"

Naruto practically ran down the hallway, barely getting enough traction with his socks on the hardwood floors. He made to stop outside his bedroom door, but he slid and crashed into a wall. Sasuke was on his bed with his back to him, but he looked up sharply when he heard the crash.

"N—Naruto, is that you?"

"Y—Yeah…" Naruto picked himself up off the floor and made his way much more carefully into his room. "Sasuke, what's wrong? They said you were looking at a magazine—"

Without speaking, Sasuke shoved this month's edition of _Hiroto's Progress _into Naruto's hands. Naruto grinned when he saw an absolutely fantastic picture of Sasuke donning the front cover. "Hey! That's great, isn't it? You made the cover!"

Sasuke glowered at the floor. "No, go to page 38."

Naruto flipped to said page and saw an article about Sasuke spanning six pages without ad interruptions. He scanned the article, barely reading as it covered all aspects of Sasuke's career, including sections about his other magazine ads, commercials, and his star role in _Insomniac's Dream_. He made a mental note to go back and read the articles more carefully when he had time and looked at the pictures. His heart beat faster as he recognized several of the pictures, most of them taken the day Naruto was there and involved Sasuke tossing "come hither" looks in his general direction—although, at the time, he hadn't recognized them for what they were and thought they were just "model looks."

There was a fold-out picture at the end of the article. On one side, there was an ad for _Insomniac's Dream_, but on the other side was a picture of him and Sasuke kissing passionately.

Naruto glanced up and saw the scowl on Sasuke's face. His heart nearly burst when the brunette ground out, "Can you believe that damn Hiroto?"

"S—Sasuke…?" he asked, tears threatening to burst forth. "Are you—are you _ashamed _of us? Are you…are you ashamed of us being known to the public?"

Sasuke was shocked. He ran forward and threw his arms around the blonde's neck. "Oh God oh God, Naruto, please please please don't cry. No, no, no, no, no, that's not it at all, Naruto… Of course I'm not ashamed of us! Don't _ever _think that! But…" He drew back and looked Naruto square in the eye. "Naruto, did you read the article or just look at the pictures?"

Naruto nervously rubbed the back of his head. "Uh… Heh, heh… I was going to read it later, I swear! I mean, I'm really interested in knowing about your career—"

Sasuke waved his hand impatiently. "No, you don't have to read any of that shit. Itachi wrote most of it, I'm sure, so it's just fucking bullshit lies. No, Naruto, did you read the part about _you_?"

Naruto flipped through the article again. "I'm in here?!"

Sasuke sighed. "Obviously. They couldn't just post a picture of me kissing you without making up some lies to go along with it. Here, it's after the fold-out picture…"

Naruto scanned the article, growing angrier and angrier by the second. Most of it was fluff to fill up the space, but the gist of the article was professing that Naruto was some common street whore, high school dropout, crack addict. Naruto could live with the lies about _him_, especially since they spelt "Uzumaki" as "Uzumari," but what _really _made him furious was how the article insisted that Sasuke spent most of his time shopping the streets looking for the perfect fuck buddy.

"How could Hiroto _do _something like this?" Naruto bellowed. "Damn it! Why would he spread such slanderous lies about you? Your reputation will be shattered!"

"And what about _your _reputation?" Sasuke added, gritting his teeth.

Naruto shook his head impatiently. "Sasuke, no one knows who I am, except the people in this town, and they _know _this shit is bull. Besides, Asuma-san is the only guy on this side of the lake that sells _Hiroto's Progress_, and he screens every issue of every magazine, so if I know him, he's not even putting it on his shelves. But you—you really have something going for yourself, Sasuke!"

Hinata poked her head around the doorframe. "Hey, you two. I heard shouting. Sasuke, are you all right?"

Naruto angrily thrust the magazine into her hands.

"Oh," she said. "I remember you telling me you went to the photo shoot!" She curiously opened the centerfold and blushed. "Oh—Oh… Umm… Wow… Ah… Asuma-san sells these, right…?"

"Read the article," Naruto growled.

She scanned the article, her lavender eyes growing darker and darker by the second. "THIS IS BULLSHIT!" she roared. "HOW COULD THEY PUBLISH SUCH _LIES_?"

Kiba ran into Naruto's bedroom. "H—Hina-chan! What's wrong?"

Hinata shoved the magazine into his hands and pointed at the article. "Read."

"Aww… Do I have to? Won't you read it _to _me, Hina-cha-cha-chaaa…." His request died off when he noticed the scathing glare his girlfriend was sending his way. "On the other hand, reading is very good for expanding the mind, and I might learn something from this experience."

However, once Kiba had finished reading the article, the others in the room learned several somethings new. In fact, Naruto was almost tempted to write down some of the swear words spouting forth from Kiba's mouth. It seemed almost as if he were going through the entire alphabet, coming up with rather inappropriate adjectives for Hiroto.

Neji, Shikamaru, and Gaara soon entered the room, partially curious as to what all the ruckus was about and partially curious to find out who exactly was a "fucking cuntbag whoreface dickwad" and what exactly that meant.

Hinata took the magazine from Kiba and wordlessly thrust it into Neji's hands, pointing angrily at the article. Shikamaru and Gaara leaned over Neji's shoulders to read it, and each of their faces twisted into similar snarls as they progressed through the article. Naruto, comforted by his friends' support, slipped his hand into Sasuke's and squeezed; Sasuke squeezed back, never having had such a stable shoulder to lean on before.

Once the trio had finished, Neji flipped back a few pages. "We'll find out who wrote this—call _Hiroto's Progress_ if we have to. It can't be legal to print such blatant lies. Ah—look, 'author not listed.'"

"It's Itachi," Gaara and Sasuke answered at the same time.

"It's akin to the plot of his older play, _Bartlebee's__ Breakdown_," Gaara explained. "Plus, the style of writing… You can mask your own style, but there are several telltale signs that never disappear. See how he never splits his infinitives, even though several times it makes it sound awkward? Modern writers—especially those who would write for a magazine like _Hiroto's Progress_—ignore that antiquated rule, but Itachi _lives _by it."

Sasuke glowered at the carpet. "That, and he's mad at me because I talked back to him the other day. Besides, there's information in there about me that only he would know."

"You know who we should call?" Naruto piped up suddenly. "Kisame."

Neji nodded. "All right. Naruto, you and Sasuke get in touch with Kisame. Meet him in person. You can get a private room at Byakugan where you won't be overheard. Gaara, go through and find as much proof in this article that it _is _Itachi. Hinata, we're going to put pressure on Hiroto to publically denounce this article and unveil who was behind it. Shikamaru, Kiba… Try to find a news station that will hear both Hiroto and Sasuke's side of the story. And remember: make sure _nothing _of our plan leaks out. If Itachi catches wind of this, he'll definitely put a stop to it."

When the others had left the room, Sasuke confessed worriedly to the blonde, "Naruto, when this breaks the news, Itachi—he'll _kill _me. Literally—_kill_."

Naruto took Sasuke in his arms. "Don't worry, Sasuke. I'll protect you."

"Naruto… Promise me Itachi's name won't go public." His voice jumped in his panic. "You don't understand him, Naruto. Itachi—will—_kill_—me!"

"But…you're his little brother… Doesn't that mean anything to him?"

Sasuke shook his head. "I haven't told you the reason we moved, have I?"

-

I feel bad because I'm very positive on vegetables, but Brussels sprouts and the rest of the cabbage family can just go fuck themselves. Bleck!

Okay, so, starting next chapter, things get a little angsty…but it's very important to the plot—I promise! But, don't worry. There will be plenty of sunshine and rainbows. :)

Please review! Reviews make me really happy. :) No joke, every time I get a review, I get out of my chair and do a little dance. :) I really love knowing that people actually enjoy what I write. Even if it's just a "hi," I'd love to hear from you. :) Also, if you ever want to talk, I don't bite; feel free to e-mail me or shoot me an IM. :) The next chapter should be out in about two weeks or maybe a little less. I've been experiencing a little writer's block lately, but your reviews have made me pick the pace back up a little. :)


	9. The Shark's Tale

Now that I think about it…Kisame was a little OOC at the break-up scene. Sorry about that. :( I hate being OOC, but…I seem to be preeeety guilty of it. ;)

Anywho, thanks to everyone who's stuck with me for so long. Nine whole chapters! Whew! That's a lot of words! …And a lot of author's notes… :) I'd like to take time out to thank everyone who reviewed for last chapter. Thanks so so so so so very much to skyinthenightslove, Blondie724 (Okay, so after all that mess and we finally got the messenger adding taken care of, I've been super busy and have only been on messenger like once in the past week. I'm sorry.), redfoxmoon, xxemogoddessxx, unholynight, cadywise, Love-of-all-Anime, Alicefreak, neoandtheangrywhiteflag, Anybody You Don't Know., Jade Rose, Stupid-Neko, zanax (I did dance :)), natasha (Yum yum! Cookie! :)), Nanin, MewMew2, SEXY SESSHY, ninetailedfoxx852, Haruharu, hisoka kurosaki, Luvs., and Kirai!! :) Thank you all sooo soo so so soo much!! :)

_Chapter 9: The Shark's Tale_

Naruto stared wide-eyed at Sasuke as he unveiled his dark past. He remained silent throughout Sasuke's reenactment, merely holding and rocking him until he had finished. He wiped away the tears before kissing him lightly.

"I can't believe it…," Naruto said softly. "He really killed your parents?"

"You don't believe me?" Sasuke snarled, his eyes flashing red, just like Itachi's.

"I never said that," Naruto said just as calmly and softly. "I said I _can't _believe it, meaning it's so surreal it's hard to wrap my mind around. But I have no reason to believe you'd lie to me, my darling Sasuke. Am I really the only person you've ever told?"

"Of course," he spat. He rubbed his eyes, suddenly more tired than he had ever been before. "I couldn't go to the cops… Itachi would kill _me_, too…"

"Well, I'm glad you told me, Sasuke. If you had kept that inside yourself any longer, it might have done some serious psychological damage. Darling Sasuke, know that you can tell me _anything_, okay?" He kissed the top of Sasuke's head before raising his chin with his index finger and looking him in the eye. "We'll only let the necessary information go public. I'll call the others. The fact that _we_ know it was Itachi is enough."

"Thank you so much, Naruto…"

"Anything for you, Sasuke."

-

While Naruto called the others to warn them to leave Itachi out of it as much as possible, Sasuke sat on the couch, red rings around his eyes as he fought of tears, Sora snuggled tightly in his lap. The TV was on, but his eyes wouldn't focus on the images. He ended up nodding off and slipping into a nightmare that hadn't visited his dreams since he had first found Naruto…

_"Hello?" Sasuke called into the dark house. "I'm home! Okaa-san…? Otou-san…?"_

_Curious as to why the house was so quiet at only nine o'clock, he checked the kitchen for a note. Finding none, he checked his parents' bedroom to see if they were already asleep. Seeing no one, he systematically checked every other room of the house._

_No one._

_"But their cars were in the driveway," he mused._

_He realized he had ended up in front of Itachi's room—the only room in the entire house he hadn't checked. But why would his parents be in Itachi's room…?_

_"Well, maybe aniki is home and can tell me where they are." He started when he realized he had spoken aloud. The words faded into the eerie silence of the rest of the household, sending chills down his spine. He lifted his hand to the door to knock and felt his blood turn to ice when he realized someone was behind him. Whipping around, he came face-to-face with Itachi, his blood red eyes glimmering mystically in the gloom of the hallway._

_"A—Ano, a—aniki…"_

_"Hello, little brother," Itachi hissed softly, sounding like a snake. Sasuke suddenly had a vision of Itachi the snake curling python-like around his neck, squeezing the life out of him—_

_"Ah! Umm… I saw okaa-san and otou-san's cars in the driveway, but…are they home?"_

_It was then that Sasuke noticed the blood smeared all over Itachi's clothes, hands, and face. "Let's just say, pieces of them are," Itachi answered, his lips curling back to reveal oddly pearly white teeth._

_Sasuke's eyes widened. "Wh—What do you mean, aniki?"_

_"Oh, I think you know exactly what I mean, little brother…"_

_-_

Sasuke heard his name being called from far off. He tried to swat it away, until he heard the screaming. It was such a blood-curdling and chilling scream, the scream of someone who had just witnessed a murder—

Sasuke bolted awake and realized that he was the one screaming and that Naruto was the one calling his name.

"Sasuke! Sasuke! Oh, Sasuke, answer me!"

"N—Naruto?" Sasuke panted, his eyes wide and full of fear.

"Oh, God, Sasuke, I was so worried about you…"

Sasuke felt himself completely enveloped in Naruto's arms, and he felt his body warmed from the inside out. His world clicked into place, and he couldn't ever remember being frightened or alone. "N—Naruto, I think I'm fine now… Thank you… I—I had a dream about—about what happened that night…"

Naruto's hug grew tighter. "Oh, Sasuke… I'm so sorry… I wish I could be there for you in your dreams, too…"

Sasuke noticed the phone digging into his shoulder as Naruto had apparently forgotten he was using it in his panic to check on Sasuke. "Who are you talking to?" he asked curiously.

Naruto let go. "Huh? Oh—umm, it's Kisame. He's agreed to have dinner with us tonight but on the condition that we don't breathe a word of this to Itachi. I've already called Neji and Kiba, and after a little convincing, they've agreed to make sure Itachi's name stays out of this. But, don't worry… I didn't tell anyone _all _the details."

Sasuke looked at his hands. "Thank you, Naruto," he whispered. "I really appreciate—"

There was a knock on the door. Naruto jumped, but Sasuke froze. The blonde immediately regretted answering the door when he saw Itachi on the other side.

"H—Hi, Itachi-san," Naruto greeted, trying to keep the stutter out of his voice as best as possible. "Sorry for keeping Sasuke-kun for so long. We had some friends over—"

"This month's issue of _Hiroto's Progress_ came in today," Itachi broke in.

Suddenly getting the feeling that he shouldn't reveal to the elder Uchiha that he had already read it, he said as innocently as possible, "Oh, did it? Did they use any of my pictures?"

"Yes, actually," Itachi answered with a sneer. "Didn't you get a complementary issue in your mailbox?"

Naruto shrugged nonchalantly, but on the inside, his blood had turned to ice. "I haven't gone down to check it yet today. I'm still swamped with yesterday's mail." He pointed to the phone and said irately, "Damn cell phone company messed up my bill again. I'm trying to get it all sorted out, but they keep putting me on hold."

Itachi's eyes seemed to look past Naruto, and it was almost like he _knew _the blonde was lying… Naruto found himself wondering how the hell Sasuke could have lived with such oppressive eyes all his life…

"May I come in?" Itachi finally asked, his voice smooth yet frigid as ice. "I need to speak with my brother."

Naruto stepped aside. "Sure, be my guest. He's in the living room. Want something to drink?"

Itachi shook his head. "No, I won't be here that long. Naruto-kun, perhaps you'd better see this article, too…"

Sasuke and Naruto read the article one more time to appease Itachi, trying their best to mimic their original reactions. It wasn't that hard with Itachi the fire-breathing dragon hovering behind them.

"Who wrote this?" Naruto shouted angrily, flipping back a couple pages once he and Sasuke hand finished. "Forget me—Sasuke's not like that! He would never hire a prostitute! Hey! Why isn't the author listed? I was gonna kick some serious ass!"

Itachi pulled out his cell phone. "Maybe I should call Hiroto himself, and fix this."

Naruto internally panicked until he heard Kisame's calm voice on the other end say, "Don't worry, Naruto-kun. I'm already on damage control. I suspected he might try something like this. Your phone will ring in a few seconds. It will be Neji. Answer it. I'll see you at dinner at 7:30." With that, the line went dead.

Naruto looked at his phone in shock, trying to keep up the façade. "First the damn phone company puts me on hold, then they hang up on me!" He turned off the phone and a second later, it rang. "Moshi moshi!"

"Naruto, it's Neji. Itachi's there, right? Put me on speaker phone. Say I want Sasuke to hear this, too."

"Ano, it's Neji-kun," Naruto said aloud. "I'll put him on speaker phone. He wants Sasuke to hear something…" He put the phone on speaker.

"Moshi moshi, Sasuke-kun," Neji said promptly. "My father brought an article to my attention in the magazine _Hiroto's Progress_. Have you read it?"

"Hai," Sasuke answered. "Itachi just brought it over…"

"Maybe if I hadn't known you," Neji continued, "I might have believed it. However, I know Naruto. I immediately called Hiroto-san to find out who was behind it, but he wouldn't disclose a name. He will, however, make an appearance on television and make a public apology. Sasuke-kun, I can arrange for you to appear on television along with him, and you can make a public statement denouncing this article—"

"I'll do it," Sasuke said firmly, his eyes narrowed. "Arigatou, Neji."

"Yeah, thanks, man," Naruto said.

Without saying goodbye, Neji hung up the phone.

Itachi looked angry, his eyes turning a shade of red Naruto hadn't seen before, and it frightened him. One blink, however, and his eyes were back to their normal color. "Sasuke, I know the Hyuuga family holds a lot of power, but I'm your manager. He can't go behind my back—"

"A—Aniki," Sasuke interrupted softly, bowing his head and looking at the dingy couch. "I…I _want _to do this. Please let me. My reputation is at stake…"

After several seconds, Itachi gave one curt nod. "I'll call Hyuuga-san and arrange the broadcast." He turned to leave when Sasuke called his name.

"Itachi! Matte! Ano… I'm going to eat dinner here at Naruto's tonight, but I'll be home afterward…okay?"

"…Do what you want." Without even acknowledging his brother, he stalked out of the apartment, closing the door behind him.

Naruto wrapped his arms around Sasuke and mumbled, "Sasuke, I don't want you to go home tonight. I want you to stay with me forever…"

Sasuke sighed. "I know. I want to stay here, too. When I'm with you, I feel alive—I feel _free_! But…if I don't go home tonight, Itachi will know something's up." His voice dropped nearly to a whisper. "I'm so afraid of him, Naruto…"

Naruto buried his nose in Sasuke's hair before kissing it lightly. "Sasuke… I'll protect you with my life. Trust me."

Sora pounced between them, surprising them. The kitten mewled, staring up at them with her large, blue eyes.

"I think she's jealous," Naruto said, laughing. His face fell. "Oh… I knew I forgot something. I never got any cat toys for her!"

"Can we go get some?" Sasuke asked. He picked Sora up and cradled her in his arms, rubbing his cheek against her soft fur. "I could really use some fresh air…"

Naruto nodded. "Yeah. Did you need to call Deidara or Pein or…?"

Sasuke shrugged. "Deidara might still be next door. I'll go check."

"If you don't return in ten minutes, I'm calling the cops," Naruto said somewhat seriously.

-

Deidara was indeed next door. He was on the couch watching TV while Itachi took a shower. Sasuke left a note on the counter and had Deidara sign it. Last time he had walked out without telling Itachi directly, even though he had left a note and had Kisame with him, Itachi had been furious with him when he returned home.

He met Naruto in the lobby and saw him talking to an imposing, large-chested woman with blonde hair tied back in two pigtails. He had met Tsunade-san once before when she had handed over the key to the apartment but could not understand why Naruto would be talking to her.

"Ah! Sasuke!" Naruto called, waving him over. "Tsunade-obaa-san is the one who has been helping me out for the past year since I got out of the foster care system! She happened to see the postman put a copy of _Hiroto's Progress _in our mailboxes."

"I was curious," Tsunade explained. "I mean…how would you two have a subscription to such an adult themed magazine? So when I went down to see Asuma-san to get a copy, he said he wasn't selling this month's issue due to a slanderous article about you two. Trust me, Sasuke-kun, there are a lot of people on your and Naruto's side. We'll get to the bottom of this."

"A—Arigatou, Tsunade-san…"

"Ah! Ano sa, ano sa! Tsunade-obaa-san—"

"Naruto," she growled, "if you call me that one more time, I swear on my dead grandfather's grave I'll—"

Naruto waved his hand impatiently, ignoring her. "Whatever, whatever, just listen! I got a kitten! Her name's Sora, and Sasuke and I are going out to buy some gifts for her! If you want, you and Shizune can go visit her any time I'm out!"

"…Are you trying to bribe me into watching your cat while you're gone?"

"Iie, iie, iie," Naruto answered quickly, waving his hands back and forth in front of his face, backing away slightly as Tsunade-san turned her hawk-like eyes on him angrily. "No, nothing like that. She's got a litter box and food and water. She's just really cute, and since I know how much you like cats—"

She pulled him into a sudden hug. "Aww, thank you so much, Na-ru-to-!" She placed a soft kiss on his cheek, and Naruto made a big show of wiping it off, pretending to be disgusted.

"Tsunade-saaaan! You can't do that to me anymore! I'm with Sasuke now!"

Tsunade glanced between the blushing Sasuke and the pouting Naruto before smiling softly. "Well, congratulations, you two. I remember once when I was younger…"

"That was a _looooong_time ago," Naruto pointed out. He quickly ducked under her fist before grabbing Sasuke by the arm and pulling him onto the street outside. "Whew! That was close! Never get hit by Tsunade-obaa-san. Even though she's fifty, she can still pack a killer punch!"

Naruto chatted aimlessly as he and Sasuke held hands all the way to Inuzuka's Pet Shop. Together, they picked out several cat toys, a few boxes of cat treats, and a scratching post. After paying for the items, they walked back to the apartment complex in comfortable silence.

Deidara didn't enter the apartment building. He caught Sasuke by the sleeve just before he went through the revolving doors and said, "Listen, Sasuke, I heard what Itachi did to Kisame. I don't want to be dumped like that—I've already developed an attraction to your brother—so, listen, you need to call Orochimaru and set up another bodyguard. I suggest Pein or Zetsu. Itachi's not interested in either of them. Besides, they're the only two in all of the Akatsuki Bodyguard Agency that actually follow the rule of not getting involved _at all _with clients. Hn."

Sasuke nodded. "That's probably a good decision. Have you told Itachi yet?"

"Yeah, I told him when we woke up this morning that today was my last day. Hn."

"Okay, well… Bye, Deidara."

As Deidara turned to leave, Naruto called to him. "Matte! Deidara-san! I have a question. Why…why do you have a tattoo of an open mouth with a tongue on your hand?"

Deidara grinned. "Why? You have something against tattoos? Hn."

Naruto rolled his eyes before pulling his shirt up to his neck and pointing at the extensive tattoo work done on his stomach. "Nope! Not at all!" He pulled his shirt back down and chewed his tongue thoughtfully. "And—ano sa, ano sa… Why do you always end everything with 'hn?' Oh, and ano sa, what kind of conditioner do you use? I mean, you have enough hair for three people—"

Sasuke pulled on Naruto. "Come on, dobe. Let's bring Sora her presents."

"Butbutbutbutbut—"

While Naruto might not have been happy being dragged up the stairs, Sora was definitely happy with her new toys. While the blonde put the cat treats in the pantry next to the cat food and the scratching post in the laundry room across from the litter box, Sasuke was smiling as Sora swatted at the stuffed mouse at the end of a long string he was holding.

Naruto made to sit by Sasuke when his phone rang. Slightly annoyed, he picked up the phone. "Moshi moshi."

"Moshi moshi, Naruto-kun. It's Kisame. I called earlier…"

"Oh, yeah… Sasuke and I went out for a little bit—with Deidara. He quit this morning. Did you hear?" He fell on the couch and watched Sasuke play with Sora.

"Yeah, I heard. That's what I'm calling to tell you." Kisame took a deep, rattling breath. "Look, when you come to Byakugan tonight… Oh, Sasuke's not going to like this… Listen, Naruto, you need to keep Sasuke in your sights _every second_."

"Kisame, what are you talking about?"

Sasuke's head snapped up at Naruto's confused tone. He strained to hear the other end of the conversation, but Sora wouldn't have it that way and kept nudging him with her paws until he picked the toy back up.

"Naruto, every bodyguard in Akatsuki is corrupt when it comes to Itachi. He has the money, he has the looks—one word, and we'll tell him anything he wants. He's actually a member of Akatsuki, but it's kept so secret that I don't think even Sasuke knows. He usually guards the more important and higher paying people—politicians, socialites…the Hyuugas."

"Nani?!"

"Mainly the father," Kisame continued, "but he's accompanied the mother on several occasions as well. The point is, we really respect Itachi…and if there's any secrets to be kept, he can pay us off enough to tell _all _the juicy details."

"So…what you're saying is that no matter which bodyguard Sasuke hires from Akatsuki tonight, they'll find a way to listen in and bust our cover?"

"That's exactly what I'm saying."

"Well, we're fucked, aren't we?"

Sasuke had frozen, his hand in midair, his face turning whiter than paper. Sora propped her two feet as high up on his chest as she could, trying to get a good look at his face, curious as to why he had suddenly gone so still. "No…," Sasuke croaked. "Kisame, no…"

"What, Sasuke? What's going on, Kisame?"

Kisame was hesitant to explain. "There's…one man in Akatsuki who isn't loyal to Itachi but _is _loyal to Sasuke."

"Well, that's good then!" Naruto chirruped.

"No…" Kisame gritted his teeth as he continued. "This man…the last time he watched Sasuke—under Itachi's request, mind you…he—he _raped _Sasuke."

Naruto dropped the phone. He turned his head slowly toward the brunette. Almost as if he were made of water, he flowed off the couch and made his way toward Sasuke, wrapping his arms as tightly as possible around him. Tears began flowing down his cheeks as he whispered Sasuke's name over and over. "Oh, Sasuke, Sasuke… I had no idea. Sasuke, how could… Oh, Sasuke…" Trying not to let go of his boyfriend, he picked up the phone from where it landed on the floor.

"I'm sorry, Kisame. I—I can't let him near Sasuke."

"Naruto, I know you don't like it, but…it's the only way… It's just for tonight. I'll walk him home, too, so you don't have to worry. He won't approach Sasuke while either you or I are there."

Naruto shook his head. "No, no, no, no, no, no… I refuse. I'm not going to let anyone else hurt Sasuke—"

"N—Naruto?" Sasuke whimpered. "It's okay. I talked to Kisame this morning, and he has something he really needs to tell you. He knows more about Itachi than anyone—even me. Itachi's never kept anyone by his side for so long. They've been together for over five years now. If this is the only way…then I'm fine with it."

"NO! Sasuke, no, I can't let you…not if he's—"

Sasuke cut Naruto off with a sharp kiss. "I love you," he whispered before taking the phone from his hand. "Kisame… Call Orochimaru. I can't do it."

"All right. Make sure you tell Itachi."

"I will."

Sasuke hung up the phone and collapsed wearily against the blonde. Tears stung the corners of his eyes, but he refused to let them fall. He had to stay strong; if he broke now, all his years of coping…

Sora sat back on her haunches staring at the two boys, her enormous blue eyes piercing through their outer defenses and seeing two boys who grew up alone, cold and shivering. She watched for nearly twenty minutes before meowing and breaking them out of their silent reveries.

"Um…" Sasuke stood up, his façade fully back in place, his obsidian eyes endless depths of deep sorrow. "I'm going to tell Itachi we're going out for dinner. I'll bring my stuff over, and I'll meet you over here—"

"No," Naruto answered sharply, standing up as well. "I'll meet you at your apartment at 6:30. Tell Oro—Oro…um…what's-his-name to meet us there at seven. I don't want him meeting you in the hallway and kidnapping you."

Sasuke leaned forward and pressed his lips to Naruto's. "How have I ever lived without you?"

And then he was gone, closing the door softly behind him.

-

Naruto lay on the couch brooding for nearly two hours. Every so often, he played with Sora from the couch, but he finally got up, unable to sit still. He ended up in his room and realized that Sasuke had left his bag. Feeling embarrassed but not really caring, he picked up Sasuke's shirt and inhaled deeply. With a start, he suddenly realized that the previous night, he had put the clothes in the washing machine but had never moved them to the dryer. Groaning, he added more clothes to the wash before starting it again.

Feeling anxious and restless, Naruto broke out the cleaning supplies once more and didn't rest until every surface was scrubbed clean. He went into the spare bedroom, which he had been using as a storage area, and began picking up and organizing the piles and piles of junk until he heard the washer buzz. In case of forgetting again, he immediately moved the clothes to the dryer.

He went back into his bedroom, forgoing doing any more work with the spare bedroom, and fell back on his bed. He glanced at his pillow and saw Sasuke's cover picture staring back at him. Grabbing the wretched magazine, he began flipping through the pages, looking through the rest of it.

It seemed _Hiroto's Progress _really was trying to break away from its solely "gay" image and incorporated a number of articles about (allegedly) straight actors popular in the media. There was even an article about Jiraya and his new erotic novel _Make-Out Paradise_.

He landed on the article about Sasuke and stared at the pictures, wondering how one person could be so beautiful… He tore out the picture of them kissing and taped it to his wall.

Glancing at his clock, he realized that it was already 6:25. After making sure Sora had plenty of food and water, he gave his kitten a hug before heading next door.

His fist had made contact with the door merely once before it swung open, Itachi's face looming in the shadows. "Hello, Naruto-kun. You're here early. Aren't your reservations at 7:30? And I don't think Orochimaru-san is coming until 7:00…"

Naruto felt a bucket of ice drop into his stomach. Just being in Itachi's presence was enough to make one's skin crawl, yet there was something…enchanting behind those overpowering eyes…something that made you want to trust him without question, to crawl in his arms and fall into everlasting sleep…and it scared the hell out of Naruto.

"Uh, well… I was bored. There's nothing on TV…"

"I met Tsunade-san in the hallway earlier." Itachi's lips peeled back into a smile as he stepped aside to let Naruto through the doorway. "She said you had a new kitten to take care of. You're already bored with her?"

"A—Ah! No, of course not, Itachi-san!" Naruto felt trapped between a rock and a hard place.

Then, Itachi smiled…and at least it _seemed _real enough. "I'm just teasing, Naruto-kun. After all, you are my brother's new boyfriend. I couldn't resist! Now, if you two will please keep it down, I'm working on writing a new play…" With the floor length coat he was wearing, he seemed to float away into his room.

Not having heard him coming, Naruto jumped when he felt Sasuke's slender arms wrap around his waist. He leaned backward, letting himself be enveloped in Sasuke's warmth. After a few moments, he turned around and completed the hug.

They were still wrapped in each other's arms when there was another knock on the door. Sasuke cowered behind Naruto as he answered the door.

"Hello, Sasuke-kun," came the gravelly voice. "Long time no see."

-

Naruto didn't know which made him more nervous: the fact that Orochimaru never said another word all the way to the restaurant or that Sasuke trembled in his arms for the remainder of the evening.

When they arrived at Byakugan, Neji was there to escort the trio to a room at the very back of the restaurant that Naruto had never noticed before. Orochimaru was told to wait outside the room, and Naruto was honestly surprised when he complied.

"I'll see you later, Sasuke-kun," Orochimaru called after them as the door slid closed, which caused Sasuke to bury his head in Naruto's arm in shame. Naruto made a mental note to beat the crap out of Orochimaru the second he got a chance.

Naruto sat as closely as possible as he could to Sasuke without actually being _in _his lap. He glowered at Kisame and snapped, "What is so fucking important that you had to bring Orochimaru into this?"

Kisame shook his head slightly. "Naruto-kun… We eat first."

"I'm not hungry," he spat.

Kisame sighed. "All right, fine, fine. Look, Naruto… You have to know something about Itachi. I'm pretty sure I'm the only person he's ever told, but it really puts his whole life into perspective. Itachi is mentally unable to trust anyone, anyone at all."

"Not even his own family?" Naruto seethed. "That's right! Sasuke told me about how he slaughtered his parents, or did good ol' Itachi forget to mention that?"

Kisame winced. "Please, Naruto… Let me finish."

Naruto scowled before nodding curtly.

"He did tell me," Kisame continued. "He told me all about that night, in great detail, how he went downstairs and slit his mother's throat before creeping into the living room and dealing the same fate to his father. But he spared Sasuke. Sasuke, I know it's hard for you to believe, but your brother loves you. He just…doesn't trust you. He _can't _trust you."

Sasuke didn't budge; he merely stared at the tablecloth.

"When Itachi was six years old—God, he's going to kill me for telling you this—when he was just six years old…your uncle was supposed to be watching him for the night while your mom was in the hospital having you, Sasuke. That's why he doesn't hate you, Sasuke—because you hadn't even had your first breath of air… But your uncle, that night, sexually assaulted Itachi…for nearly six hours. And, no, this wasn't a small child's concept of time. This was how long your father was at the hospital.

"After that, Itachi wasn't able to function in the way healthy young boys are supposed to behave. He never let anyone touch him or even get close to him physically—much less emotionally—until one day, he couldn't take the pressure anymore and snapped. He vowed revenge. Starting with your parents, he personally destroyed every person he came in contact with."

"Why was he so close to you, then?" Naruto asked suddenly.

Kisame cast his gaze downward, refusing to look Naruto in the eye. "Because I was already destroyed. He couldn't do any damage to me until he had first healed me." He took a deep breath and let it out slowly. "Which he did. He healed my shattered, untrusting heart only to break it once again…"

"So… Ano sa, ano sa, you said that Itachi didn't hate Sasuke. Why would he write that article, then?"

After taking a large gulp of sake, Kisame merely shrugged. "I have no idea. But, in my opinion…I think it's a cry for help. He knew Sasuke would be able to figure out the author of the article in one go. I think he wanted you to get mad and hurt him. He said once that when he hurts is the only time he feels alive." He looked up suddenly and purposefully met Naruto's eyes. "Be careful of him right now. He's planning something. Don't get sucked in. He is the master of deception."

"And I'm the master of debating," Naruto growled, "so back off, okay? Like hell I would placate that bastard! Look what he's done to my poor Sasuke!"

Said Sasuke didn't even look up at the sound of his name, nor did he move at all.

Neji came into the room at Kisame's signal. Kneeling beside Sasuke, he took his hand in his. "Sasuke-kun? Sasuke, I need to ask you a few questions about the television interview…" He looked helplessly at Naruto when Sasuke remained statuesque.

Naruto lightly ran his fingers through Sasuke's deep black locks before rubbing small circles on the small of his back. "Sasuke-love… Sasuke, I know this is hard for you, but we need to ask you a few questions." He slipped his warm, tan hand into Sasuke's pale, clammy one before resting his head on the other's shoulder. "Sasuke… It'll be all right. No one's going to hurt you…"

When Sasuke remained unresponsive, Naruto wrapped his arms around the smaller boy, completely enveloping him. "Kisame-san… Neji-kun… Could we continue this conversation tomorrow…? Please?"

Neji stared at Naruto for a long time, his pearly white eyes staring right through his blue-eyed friend, opals meeting sapphires. After nearly a minute, he finally sighed. "All right, Naruto. We'll meet at my house at 9:30 tomorrow morning. Bring Pein, and I'll ask Hinata's mother to distract him while we talk. I think she has a dinner party to go to next weekend, so she'll be in the market for a bodyguard."

A quick nod, a simple, "Thank you." Naruto picked up the frozen boy in his arms, bridal style, and watched as he fell into a fitful sleep. Kisame followed them immediately, and the glare he shot Orochimaru was enough to make Naruto cringe. Orochimaru, however, merely smiled.

"Oh, I see how it is, Kisame," the snake smirked. "I would have half a mind to tell Itachi who you've been meeting with…if I didn't love my little Sasuke-kun so much."

Naruto felt the growl in the back on his throat, and his lips peeled back to show his sharp, white teeth. He subconsciously pulled the sleeping boy closer to his chest before heading out of the restaurant, the hairs on the back of his neck prickling.

When they arrived back at the apartment, Orochimaru slipped into the shadows without saying a word. Naruto had had half a mind to have Kisame take up Sasuke while he beat the shit out of the snake, but one look at the sleeping boy in his arms drove all thoughts of violence from his mind.

"Thanks, Kisame," Naruto mumbled before letting himself into the apartment. Forgoing the stairs, he took the elevator up to the fifth floor, never once letting go of the dark-haired boy. He knocked softly on the Uchiha apartment door before realizing it was unlocked. He reached the bedroom and softly set him on the bed.

Slowly, gently, so as not to wake him, Naruto stripped Sasuke down to his boxers and pulled the covers over his slender form. After several tries, Naruto found himself unable to tear himself away from the beautiful boy; he stripped down as well and climbed under the covers, careful not to disturb Sasuke, before wrapping his arms around his waist.

"Good night, Sasuke-love," Naruto whispered. "I love yo…" He had already drifted off to sleep before he had finished the word.

In his sleep, Sasuke rolled over and snuggled closer to the warmth that was Naruto. His arms and legs wrapped themselves around him as if holding on for dear life. He whispered Naruto's name before drifting off into even deeper sleep.

-

So…I haven't gotten very far in the Shippuden series (I'm on maybe episode 30, which is why I'm hesitant to use Sai, Pein, or Zetsu in this story, even though the former two have already appeared in this story), but when I saw that _mouth _on Deidara's _hand_—I nearly lost my lunch. I don't know why…it's just so—_EERIE_!! I mean…can you imagine him jerking off?! I mean, I guess it would feel good (I wouldn't really know, though, since I'm missing that anatomical part and have the other one instead), but…can you imagine if he managed to hide his hand and went on a date with someone and they're home doin' the nasty nasty and his date feels this friggin' TONGUE on his who-ha but noooo Deidara's tongue is currently down his throat—I mean, that's just gotta lead to awkward questions. …The point of this story is that I was watching Shippuden in a rolly chair, and when I saw that friggin' hand, I literally pushed myself backward away from my computer a good ten feet, a scream stuck in my throat. No joke. It just gives me the heebie jeebies.

So, here's a little side note as to the floor plan of Sasuke/Naruto's apartments, just in case you have trouble imagining it. For Naruto's apartment, you enter and emerge in the living area; the kitchen is to the right. Walk down a short hallway; the laundry area is to the right and a bathroom to the left. Straight ahead is a bedroom (Naruto's). To the right is another bedroom (Naruto uses this as a storage area). There is a bathroom between the two bedrooms but it is only accessible by the spare bedroom. Sasuke/Itachi's floor plan is the same, just mirrored and rotated. You enter and emerge in the living area; the kitchen is straight ahead. There is a hallway to the left. On the left is a bathroom, to the right, the laundry area. Straight ahead is Sasuke's bedroom, and to the right is Itachi's. Between the two bedrooms is a bathroom accessible only through Itachi's bedroom.

Please review! :)


	10. WheatOhs Taste Like Cardboard, Teme!

Tons of thanks to everyone who reviewed!! Thanks so much to cadywise, Alicefreak, redfoxmoon (Don't worry: no harm will come to Sora. :) I'm very pet-friendly! Although Sora will play a semi-big role later on.), CULLENx, Blondie724, MewMew2 (hehe, I actually think Zetsu's really cute… :) Especially chibi pictures of him…but then again, maybe I'm just weird.), Nanin (I'll try to end each chapter on a happy-ish note, but, yeah, there are more tear-jerker moments coming up.), Stupid-Neko (haha, I'm glad someone's on the same page with me about Deidara's mouth hand and jerking off abilities XD), hisoka kurosaki (Ack! There are _more _mouths?? Noooo!!), aaaaand mangaworm!! :D I love you guys soo much!! :D Also, thanks a million to those of you who have IM'd me and/or e-mailed me!! :D You make my day!

_Chapter 10: Wheat Ohs Taste Like Cardboard, Teme!_

Sasuke blinked several times when he heard an unfamiliar song playing from somewhere on his floor. He looked over the side of his bed and saw a pair of jeans that definitely weren't his. He realized he was dressed only in his boxers and couldn't remember getting home the night before.

There was a groan from behind him and a shifting of the mattress. A pair of strong arms wrapped around his waist and a pair of lips latched onto his shoulder, sucking lightly. "Saaaasuke….," Naruto whined. "Could you get my phone…? I don't want to get up… Your bed is so much more comfortable than mine…"

Sasuke snorted. "Whatever, dobe." He leaned over and grabbed Naruto's phone from his pants pocket. He glanced at his caller ID and saw Gaara's name. Smirking, he answered it while Naruto whined in protest.

"Moshi moshi, this is Uzumaki Naruto's phone."

There was a long pause, then, "Is this Sasuke?"

"…Temari? Why are you using Gaara's phone?"

"I should be asking why you're answering Naruto's phone!" Temari retorted, though with a definite bemused streak. "Don't tell me you guys are already sleeping together."

Sasuke blushed, realizing that it was true…though not the way Temari had meant it.

Naruto plucked his phone from Sasuke's hand. "Moshi moshi, Temari-chan! What's up?"

"I'm your morning wake-up call!" she cried chipperly. "Neji called Gaara last night to make sure you were up in time for your 9:30 meeting, but Gaara just drifted off to sleep about an hour ago and I didn't want to wake him…so I called you instead."

"…Why couldn't Neji just have called me?"

Temari huffed. "Oh, you know how he is. Besides, I heard he had Shikamaru over last night. He'd be too tired for wake-up calls this morning. If I know him, he's probably in a hot bath right now, relaxing those stiff muscles, that uke. Speaking of which…Naruto, is Sasuke over at your place?"

Naruto stretched before answering nonchalantly, "Nah, I'm over at his place. I invited myself over and slept in his bed."

"Eeeehhhh?" shrieked Temari. "Oh! Give me details, details!"

"Well…he was already asleep when I carried him to the bed, and I lay down next to him and fell asleep almost immediately after."

"Oh. Well, that was anticlimactic."

"Sorry," he answered sarcastically. "Maybe next time."

She perked up. "Oh! Maybe! Well, I guess you're up, then, so…my work here is done!"

Naruto hung up the phone and, glancing at the clock, groaned. _7:30_?!They had two hours before they had to meet with Neji. Naruto fell back on his pillow. "Ugh, we have another hour and forty-five minutes before we have to leave. What do you want to do until then?"

A dark smirk played across Sasuke's lips before he suddenly rolled on top of Naruto, straddling his waist. Naruto raised a blond eyebrow, but any question he might have had was cut off by Sasuke's lips on his. After breaking the kiss, Sasuke sat up and ground lightly into Naruto. "I can think of a few things…Naruto-kun."

Naruto arched upward when Sasuke's hand rubbed against the front of his boxers. "Aaahh! That feels so—so good…"

Sasuke bent down and took a nipple between his lips, flicking it with his tongue. His hand reached inside the thin piece of fabric and grasped Naruto's already hard cock before stroking at a maddeningly slow pace. Naruto's head thrashed around on the pillow as he tried to buck into Sasuke's hand, but the brunette placed his free hand on his hips to still him.

"Ahh…! Sasuke…! Sa—Sasu…so good…!" He pushed on the top of Sasuke's head to get him to stop. In response to his confused look, Naruto pounced on top of him, sliding his boxers down his legs and taking him in his mouth.

"N—NARUTO!" Sasuke screamed, arching up and pushing himself all the way into the blonde's awaiting mouth. Naruto, who was not quite used to giving head, choked a little and pulled back. "S—Sorry," Sasuke panted, trying his best not to grab the blonde by the back of his neck and fuck his mouth furiously.

Naruto shook his head. "It's all right," he tried to say around a full mouth. Sasuke's entire body shivered from the vibrations. Naruto smirked around his member before bobbing his head and humming at the same time, reveling in the delicious mewling noises that were coming out of Sasuke's mouth. He used his right hand to caress his balls while his left hand stroked what wouldn't fit in his mouth.

"A—Ah, N—Naruto! D—Don't stop—! Ah—so good…"

Naruto liked talking dirty but didn't want to release Sasuke from his mouth, so instead of humming, he began trying to form words. "You like that, don't you? You like fucking me in the mouth with that huge cock of yours, don't you?"

All Sasuke heard was a series of mumbles, but the alternate and random ways Naruto's throat would constrict and vibrate accompanied by the hand deftly playing with his balls had him thrashing around on the bed moaning and trying to get the rest of himself into the blonde's mouth. "Oh, God, Naruto! Don't stop! Ahh—this feels so—so fucking good…! N—Naruto! I—I—so good fuck so fucking good… N—Naruto, I'm gonna—"

Sasuke couldn't finish his sentence before he arched high of the bed. Naruto continued stroking him through his orgasm as he released load after load of hot cum into Naruto's waiting mouth. He lay panting for several seconds before grabbing Naruto and pulling him up for a kiss, loving the taste of himself on his boyfriend's lips.

Before Naruto could blink, he was on his back and his boxers were gone, Sasuke smirking from between his legs. Sasuke propped the blonde's tan legs on his shoulders before taking him in his mouth. Naruto groaned as he watched his entire cock slip into Sasuke's mouth.

"A—Ano sa," Naruto panted, barely able to keep his mind on the present. Sasuke looked up and arched an eyebrow, showing he was listening as he slowly slid up and down his length. "Ano sa, Sasuke… I—I…I'm not, you know, small… I mean—how do you fit eight-and-a-half inches in your mouth without gagging?"

Sasuke let Naruto slip out of his mouth. He pressed his lips to his pelvis before grinning lewdly. "I don't know… No gag reflex?"

Naruto propped himself up on his elbows to watch. "So…continue?"

"Gladly." Sasuke licked the precum from Naruto's tip before taking the entire cock in his mouth once more.

Naruto moaned and tried not to thrust into his mouth. "Oh—Oh, God, Sasuke, that feels so—so—aaahhh—so…fuck…!"

Sasuke removed his mouth and licked from base to tip before freezing suddenly. He looked up. "So…I think I just got it. When I eat popsicles…it looks just like this?"

"Yyyyyyyup."

"Oh." He licked from base to tip a few more times slowly, thinking, before getting a mischievous glint to his eye. "Hey, Naruto… When you masturbate…do you ever touch yourself here?" He pressed his finger against Naruto's asshole and massaged a little, loving how Naruto gasped in pleasure.

"A—Ah…" He felt his cheeks turn red and wasn't quite sure why. "Um… Once, a long time ago…"

Another lick. "So… Naruto…" He slipped Naruto's right testicle into his mouth and sucked lightly before letting it fall back out of his mouth. "Did you like it?"

After a few seconds, he nodded. "Yeah… Yeah, I did. But…I was dating this girl at the time, and I felt…awkward…"

He removed his finger, and Naruto moaned at the loss of contact. He kissed his inner thigh before sucking hard enough to leave a red mark. "So, Naruto…" He placed a chaste kiss on his opening, a smirk gracing his lips. "Do you mind if I touch it?"

Another moan, and Sasuke realized that just his moans alone had gotten him rock hard once again. "Oh, God, Sasuke, you can touch any part of my body that you goddamn wish." He met his eyes and said in all seriousness, "Sasuke, I'm all yours. You can do anything you want with me."

"I'll take your word on that," Sasuke smirked. He stuck out his tongue and touched it to Naruto's entrance. The blonde jumped but relaxed when Sasuke's hand wrapped around his cock and began stroking. "Relax, Naruto…and if it doesn't feel good, tell me, and I'll stop." He slipped his tongue inside Naruto and groaned when Naruto's muscles reflexively clamped around him, imagining how that would have felt against his own weeping cock. He massaged the tight ring of muscles with his tongue until Naruto finally relaxed and he was able to go deeper. He tongue-fucked the boy underneath him while simultaneously stroking him in time until Naruto could barely form a complete sentence.

He sat back and smiled at the writhing blond beneath him. Moving up, he kissed him tenderly on the lips, then chin, then collarbone. He slid his tongue against Naruto's weeping tip, brushing back and forth over the slit for several seconds. His mouth moved further down the hard appendage until his nose was pressed against Naruto's abdomen. Waiting until Naruto was thoroughly distracted, he slid his right index finger slowly past the tight entrance and into the warm cavern beyond.

"Oh, God, oh, fuck, Sasuke! Oh, damn, fuck, you feel so fucking good—aaah! Your mouth around my cock feels so fucking great! Oh, fuck, don't stop…!"

Sasuke couldn't help but smirk as Naruto continued his nonsensical ramble. He felt his cock jump every time his name passed those dusty pink lips. He curved his finger, searching for something…

"AAAAHHHHH! OH MY FUCKING GOD SASUKE THAT FEELS SO FUCKING FANTASTIC!!"

If Sasuke had thought Naruto was loud before—prior to poking Naruto's prostate, the boy had been like a mouse…a _mute _mouse. He hit his prostate several more times, loving the screams he elicited, before slowly adding a second finger. Naruto winced but tried his best to relax.

"God, you're so fucking tight, Naruto," Sasuke mumbled when he finally had both fingers all the way in. In seconds, he had found the blonde's sweet spot, and not long after, Naruto came moaning his name.

Sasuke swallowed all Naruto had to offer  and moved to lay down next to his boyfriend. Sighing, he rested his head on the blonde's broad, tan chest. "Mmm… I love you, Uzumaki Naruto."

Even though he was exhausted, Naruto managed to wrap his arms around the pale boy. He placed a light kiss in his damp hair and said, "I love you, too, Uchiha Sasuke…"

Naruto's phone rang once more, and he begrudgingly rolled over and answered it. "What?" he snapped.

"I know there's a very attractive boy next to you," Gaara drawled, "and I know you would love to stay next to him all day, but you need to be at Neji's in forty-five minutes, and I doubt you've even showered." The redhead hung up before Naruto could even respond.

Naruto sat up and stretched, sated yet very sleepy. He glanced over at the boy next to him and saw that he was still hard. A devious grin much like the one Sasuke himself had sported earlier passed over Naruto's face. "Ne, ne, Sasuke… You know…we're in a little bit of a drought right now…and the best thing we can do for the environment is conserve water…" He grabbed Sasuke's cock and stroked as he said, "You wanna shower together?"

Sasuke moaned and bucked his hips upward into Naruto's hands. "Y—Yeah… You're right… F—For the environment, we should—we should…" He began to buck faster, moaning Naruto's name.

Naruto moved his hand, and Sasuke pouted. "To be continued." He placed a light kiss on Sasuke's cheek before pulling his boxers back on. "Hey, can I borrow some of your clothes? I don't feel like going back over to my place to change."

Sasuke nodded. He watched Naruto rummage through his closet and slowly began to stroke himself. When Naruto turned around, he felt himself grow hard once more, especially when Sasuke noticed the blonde watching and started to put on a show. He leaned back and smirked, lazily stroking himself, brushing his thumb across his tip whenever his hand made its way back to the head.

Gathering up two sets of clothes as quickly as possible, not even caring if anything matched or not, he grabbed Sasuke suddenly and carried him bridal-style down the hall to the bathroom. As he locked the bathroom door behind him, he realized he was extremely lucky not to have met Itachi in the hallway. If he had, he probably would have died from embarrassment.

Pushing aside thoughts of overly frightening older brothers, Naruto turned on the water, threw his boxers halfway across the bathroom, and tossed Sasuke in.

"Naruto!" Sasuke whined, trying to climb out of the tub. "The water's still freezing!"

Naruto pushed him back in before following. "Then we'll just have to warm ourselves up," Naruto purred before grabbing Sasuke's member in his hand. He leaned his head back when Sasuke's hand found his own manhood. They continued to stroke each other, Sasuke placing kisses all over Naruto's upper body, until they finally came together, moaning each other's names. They fell against each other, practically collapsing at the bottom of the tub.

It took several moments to regain their breath and even longer before they stopped kissing and actually started showering. Naruto found it extremely hard to concentrate on even simple tasks, such as washing his hair, when sex god Sasuke was anywhere within five hundred miles of him, especially when said sex god was purposely trying to make him hard again.

After nearly fifteen minutes, Sasuke shut off the water and handed the blonde a towel. "I don't think that saved any extra water, dobe. In fact, I think we used up more than we would have taking separate showers."

Naruto shrugged. "Yeah, well, it's the thought that counts."

Once they had gotten dressed and ready, Naruto checked his cell phone for the time. "Well, we still have another ten minutes before we absolutely have to leave… Sasuke, you call Pein, and I'll make breakfast."

Naruto glanced around the pantry a few times looking for cereal with unhealthy amounts of sugar but couldn't find anything that would turn the milk a questionable color. Sighing and resigning himself to a box of Wheat Ohs, he turned around and jumped, nearly dropping the box of cereal. Itachi merely stared at him, bemused, before getting three bowls, three spoons, and a jug of milk and setting them on the counter.

"Good morning, Naruto-kun," he said, his voice dangerously sensuous. "I trust you and Sasuke slept well. Although, I am curious to know why you got such an early start this morning."

Naruto felt the blush creeping up to his cheeks, knowing that he must have heard them. They were quite loud and the walls weren't _that _thick…even if there _was _a bathroom separating the two rooms. Not saying anything and trying to play it cool, Naruto merely poured three bowls of Wheat Ohs. He put the box back in the pantry while Itachi poured the milk.

Naruto picked up his spoon and, pulling his bowl toward him, mumbled a half-hearted, "Itadakimasu." He took one bite and made a face. "This tastes like cardboard," he said around the soggy mess. He swallowed. "Yuck! How can you eat this, Itachi-san?"

Itachi shrugged. "It's healthy. You get used to it."

"But it's…really, really, really gross!"

"…Then why are you still eating it?"

Sasuke entered the room without casting one glance toward Itachi and pulled his own bowl of cereal toward him. He began to eat in silence, and while he didn't make nearly as many faces as Naruto, his eyes were narrowed in dislike. "Aniki," he said after a few bites, "I called Pein, and he's on his way over. Naruto and I are going out to see his friend Neji-kun for a little bit."

Itachi nodded. "Well, don't feel like you have to come back too soon. I was planning on writing more of my new script, and I would appreciate the silence." He winked at Naruto, who blushed harder and buried his face in his bowl to hide it.

Sasuke sighed. "So, you're not angry with me for not asking Deidara? I thought you had a thing for him?"

Itachi laughed—but it was a hollow, humorless laugh, and it made the fine hairs on the back of Naruto's neck prickle. "I may have a thing for blondes, little brother, but I'm way out of Deidara's league. Besides, his dick's too small."

Naruto had half a mind to ask how small was "too small" but quickly shut his mouth, not really wanting to find out…especially not after the blondes comment. He stuffed several more spoonfuls into his mouth before there was a knock at the door and Pein let himself in.

"Ready?"

Sasuke nodded. He was halfway to the front door already while Naruto was busy shoveling spoonful after spoonful of the health food into his awaiting mouth. He was already starving from not having eating dinner the night before and the exercises that morning, and he had to be at work at eleven and probably wouldn't get a break for lunch until nearly two…

"Wow, Naruto-kun," Itachi remarked. "You sure can shovel it down. I bet you don't have much of a gag reflex."

Naruto choked, suddenly imagining Itachi's dick shoved in his mouth—all the way, no gag reflex. He closed his eyes and shook his head to clear away the image. Naruto was confused. Even if he _had _had the _slightest _interest in Itachi, it wasn't the sort of image he would be likely to conjure. It was almost as if Itachi himself had put that image in his head. But…that was impossible! …Wasn't it?

"Naruto, are you okay?" Sasuke called from the living area.

Naruto nodded, still trying to clear his airway. When the milk was finally convinced to go down the esophagus instead of the trachea, Naruto called, "Yeah, just ate too fast. I'll be fine." He put his bowl in the sink and mumbled, "Thanks for letting me stay over and eat breakfast, Itachi-san."

"It's my pleasure, Naruto-kun," Itachi answered, his voice eerily seductive. "You can stay over as often as you'd like. I like meeting my little brother's friends… Oh, and, by the way, Sasuke's pants look _great _on you."

Naruto hurried out of the apartment as fast as he could. He had half a mind to change into  a pair of his own pants before heading out but decided against it; he wanted to put as much distance between himself and Itachi as he possibly could. Ever since he had slid on the pants, he had knows they were a little tight. After all, Sasuke was a good size or two smaller than he was. However, he had _thought _they were more of a comfortable tight and really didn't want Itachi—

"Naruto? Are you okay? You're practically running…"

Sasuke's voice brought him out of his reverie and he looked down at the brunette jogging beside him. "O—Oh… G—Gomen, Sasuke…" He slowed to a walk and decided to tell Sasuke what had happened before it grew to be a big deal. "It's just…while I was choking, your brother sort of…hit on me."

"Yeah, he'll do that," Sasuke said tersely, glaring at the ground.

"Well…," continued Naruto nervously. "That's not all… He said something—something that could be connotated sexually, and…and suddenly I had this naughty picture of him in my mind! And, I mean, I really don't get it, because I have virtually zero attraction toward him!"

Sasuke sighed before slipping his hand into Naruto's. "Yeah… I appreciate your honesty, Naruto, and I'm glad you told me. I won't leave you alone with him anymore. Don't think you're the first one he's done that to. He has this…ability, I guess you can say—he can make anyone see any image he wants them to see just by changing the tone of his voice. Trust me, even _I've _been at the receiving end of it, and it wasn't pretty. He's aware of it, too, that bastard. He calls it 'sharingan,' whatever that means."

Suddenly, Sasuke smirked slyly. (A/N: Alliteration! …Sorry, I'm a nerd.) "So…Naruto. What exactly did you see?"

Naruto blushed and stared at him skeptically. "Y—You really want me to tell you?"

"If you tell me what he made you see…I'll tell you what he made _me _see."

"Er… I guess…" He took a deep breath and hoped no one else on the sidewalk was listening in on their conversation—especially not Pein. He didn't want to give Itachi the satisfaction of knowing that his "sharingan" had worked…although, he could probably tell by the shocked expression on his face. "Well… His cock was in my mouth, but we were wearing, like, all this bondage shit. He had on these little crotchless leather shorts and he had on a—a—a cock ring." He didn't know why, but he felt embarrassed saying "cock ring" in front of Sasuke…

"Oh?" Sasuke was still smirking. "And what were you wearing, my little kinky devil?"

Naruto was surprised. "Sasuke, are…are you into kinky stuff, like leather and bondage and shit?"

Sasuke shrugged. "Hey, with you, anything's hot. We could fucking coat ourselves in honey and feathers and I'd still cum all over you, if you asked me to."

"Oh. Well…I don't see us coating ourselves in feathers any time soon…but honey might be fun to play with. It'd be fun to lick stuff off you. Maybe I'll even pour a pile of Wheat Ohs on your chest and eat them off."

"…Yeah, the Wheat Ohs were not my idea. That's Itachi's cereal. It's actually one of the better cereals we keep in the house." Sasuke leaned close. "So…you never did tell me what you were wearing…"

"Oh. Well, I don't really remember. I tried to block it out so quickly I didn't catch all of the details. But I remember I was wearing leather boots. And assless chaps. Like that guy Izzy Sparks from _Guitar Hero_." (A/N: I don't own _Guitar Hero _or any of its sequel games…as you might have noticed… Otherwise there might actually be _cute _male characters in those games…)

Sasuke laughed. "Yeah, I've seen those hanging in his closet. Since then, I haven't gone in Itachi's closet. Damn, Naruto… What exactly did he say to you to spark this image?"

"Something about having a gag reflex…"

"Yeah, we need to fix that." His toothy grin reminded Naruto of Kisame's. "I want you to be able to take my _whole _cock in your mouth."

Naruto moaned and ignored it when several people around them turned sharply to look at him. "Damn it, Sasuke. Don't do that… Neji won't let me wank off in his house, and then I have to get to work at eleven. I don't want to be hard the rest of the day, you sexy beast. But…speaking of which…you owe me an image, teme!!"

"Sure you can handle it, dobe?"

Naruto growled. "Of course I can!"

"Well… About a year ago, Itachi and I got in an argument about whose turn it was to clear the table. To this day, I still swear it was his turn…but suddenly, I got this image of Itachi fucking me on the kitchen table. I was so shocked that by the time I came to, Itachi was already gone and I had to wash all the fucking dishes."

"Oh. I didn't know washing dishes could be such a big deal."

Sasuke rolled his eyes. "Shut it, dobe." While his tone was harsh, his smile gave him away.

They arrived several minutes later outside Hyuuga Manor, and Naruto tentatively reached up and rang the doorbell at the front gate. He scratched the back of his head nervously while he waited for the gates to open and mumbled, "Neji knows I hate coming here… It makes me so anxious. Their house is so friggin' big…"

Sasuke gazed past the gates at the large manor beyond and shrugged. "My old house was bigger," he said nonchalantly as the gates swung open.

Naruto stared open-mouthed as he walked behind Sasuke, the pale boy walking straight up to the house without a problem.

"Good morning, Sasuke-kun, Naruto-kun," Neji said, nodding at Pein as well. "Thank you for coming all the way out here. Please follow me…"

Neji led them to a building Naruto had never been in before…although, in all honesty, he couldn't be totally sure: all of the buildings that made up Hyuuga Manor looked the same. After taking off their shoes, the trio followed Neji past beautiful, traditional paintings lining the walls. Naruto stayed in the exact middle of the hallway, afraid he would bump something and ruin what probably cost more than it would take to build a public high school. He shuddered, wondering how many years it would take before he could pay even one-tenth of one of these paintings.

They stopped outside a sliding door, which Neji opened with extreme caution and deliberation. In Naruto's opinion, he did it for dramatic effect.

A woman who looked just like Hinata would if she were twenty to thirty years older was passing by when she stopped, starting. "Oh… Pein-san…"

Pein nodded. "Hyuuga-san."

She smiled, and Naruto felt his heart stop. So this was Hinata's mother and Neji's aunt…? She had a beautiful physique and complexion and the same eyes as her children and husband, yet, unlike her children's eyes and more like her husband's eyes, they were completely devoid of emotion, merely two endless pits of white…unfeeling.

"Pein-san," she continued, her smile showing off her small, pearly white teeth. Her voice was comforting yet at the same time unsettling. Naruto felt bile rise in his throat when he realized how much this woman reminded him of Itachi. "Pein-san, would you accompany me to the other room, please? I have a business proposition to discuss…"

Apparently, Hyuuga-san held more sway over Pein than Itachi, for he followed the woman a few doors down without question.

Neji quickly beckoned the pair into the room before closing the door a lot faster than he had opened it. "Hurry, we don't have much time before our distraction wears off…"

There was a small teak table at the center of the room which they sat around, Naruto and Sasuke on one side facing Neji. Naruto comfortingly slipped his hand in Sasuke's, who squeezed back.

Neji began immediately: "Sasuke-kun, we have an interview set up for Chakra Television. You will accompany Hiroto-san. He will speak first; I've already written the outline of a speech for him and asked him not to mention Itachi's name. I've also paid him a large sum of money to ensure his cooperation. Although, to tell you the truth, Sasuke, Naruto…he seems genuinely upset about the article and said he had been planning on a public announcement anyway. Something about not having read the one portion where Sasuke 'paid men for sex'—his words."

"Bull shit," Naruto mumbled.

Neji shrugged. "Sa ne? The point is, Sasuke…for us to pull this off, you need to prove to the masses that Naruto is indeed _not _a prostitute. You need to announce publicly the relationship between the two of you. Are you willing to do that?"

Sasuke slowly turned toward Naruto and blushed. "N—Naruto…? I—I—"

Naruto hung his head. "Y—You're not ashamed of me, are you, Sasuke…?"

The brunette looked taken aback. "N—Not at all, Naruto! Of course not! I just wanted to make sure _you _were all right with it first!"

Naruto looked up and beamed. "Of course I'm all right with it! I would profess our love from the top of a mountain! I'll even kiss you on television, if anyone wants more proof!"

"That might be necessary, actually," Neji said calmly. "No doubt the media will show the picture from the magazine plenty of times. But, Naruto, you, too, will need to be there. You need to play the part of boyfriend to pull this off. Also, it might help if you lie and say you had gotten together _before _the photo shoot. Otherwise, the media might spin this in a negative direction and say the two of you got together _because _of the photo shoot."

"Ah, what do I care, anyway?" Naruto waved his hand impatiently. "I mean, who cares what the media thinks? All I care about is getting Sasuke's name cleared of seeking out male prostitutes!"

Neji glared. "You'd better start caring about what the media thinks, Naruto. The media could either make or break Sasuke's career. Theater and production companies won't be as willing to hire someone with a stain on their name. If this gets out of hand enough, Sasuke's career could end and his name would fade to but a memory."

"I don't care," mumbled Sasuke, burying his face in Naruto's arm. "It was Itachi's stupid idea, anyway. I don't even want to be a stupid model—or an actor."

"Oh, don't say that," Naruto placated, wrapping his arms around Sasuke. "You're really good at what you do, you know? Besides, I'm jealous. I think a life of fame and fortune would be exciting!"

"Then you can have it," Sasuke spat. "I hate having other people watching every step I take…and my loving manager and brother Itachi is more than willing to give out any mistake I make."

"Then we're clear on what you need to do?" Neji asked. He waited for the two of them to nod before standing up. "All right. That's all I wanted. You may leave now."

Naruto snorted. "You're so weird, Neji. What's the hurry to get us out of here?"

The door opened and Pein entered. "Sasuke, your brother needs to speak with you. I'm to bring you home right away. Something about appearing on television tonight."

Naruto made to leave with them, but Neji grabbed his shoulder, successfully stopping him mid-step. "Naruto, you didn't think you were leaving, did you? Tonight, you are going to perform your role as boyfriend to famous supermodel and actor Uchiha Sasuke. What do you think you're going to wear? This?"

Naruto's face fell. "Oh. I didn't think about that."

Neji scoffed. "I know. Come on, blondie. Back to my closet we go."

"But I just got out of the closet," Naruto whined.

You know, it's got to be one hell of an excellent job writing smut for a living (oh, if only I were paid for this, haha). I'm totally with Jiraiya on this one: watching people shower would totally be considered research! Although, I would probably pick a better place to peep than at a hot springs… Then again, Sai got an eyeful of Naruto. Maybe it would end up being worth my  while… Mapquest me to the nearest hot spring! …Just kidding. :)

Oh, okay, so when Naruto was making breakfast at Sasuke's house (I love how he just goes through their pantry; oh, and he left a jug of orange juice in their refrigerator from a previous chapter…it's like he has two homes) and saw Itachi and was like, "OMGZ WHEN DID YOU GET THERE LOLZ ROFLMAO?!11" (hahaha, I never type like that, so I had to get it out of my system), I was going to have him holding cereal bowls and dropping them but decided against it (because I was too lazy to have them clean it up). However, this scene reminds me a lot of one of my friends, who used to be the biggest klutz EVER—and I mean this with all the love in my heart. :) Anywho, so, she was making a bowl of cereal and just chillin', holding the milk carton…and then she drops the full jug…and milk goes literally EVERYWHERE! All over the floor, the counters, the refrigerator—not even kidding, THE CEILING. There was _milk _on her _ceiling_…and it pretty much rocked. :)

Oh, and I guess I have to site the honey idea. Sigh… Anywho, the honey idea came from a, uh…nameless friend of mine. We'll call him Oliver. Because I love the name Oliver. :) (Although, Oliver's real name is even more kick-ass than Oliver, if you can believe that. :O) Anywho, Oliver and his boyfriend, uh…Uzbekistan… Yeah. Well, they use honey in their…uh, fun time…and Oliver told me about it, and I thought it was friggin' hot, so I stole it, so :P I disclaimer it.

Please review! :)


	11. Look, Ma! I'm on TV!

Thanks a million bajillion kajillion (yes, that's a real number :D) times to anyone and everyone who's been reading!! You guys are my life! :) Also, thanks a million bajillion kajillion times to everyone who took the time to review. I love you, Kohaku, zanax, hisoka kurosaki, Nanin, cadywise, aivivi, redfoxmoon, Blondie724, Obtained, neoandtheangrywhiteflag, darknecromancer666, Mallory, and RaidenSAMAx!! Love love muah!!

_Chapter 11: Look, Ma!__ I'm on TV!_

Naruto entered Kyuubi Bookstore and froze, staring at the man who sat behind the autograph table. Keeping the man in his sights, Naruto sidled over to Gaara and Kimimaro. "Ano sa, ano sa…" He pointed at the white-haired man and practically shouted, "What is that old pervert doing here?!"

"Now, that's not very nice, Naruto-kun," Kakashi-san said, coming out of the back room with two cups of coffee and handing one to the white-haired man. "Jiraiya-san happens to be an acclaimed author. His series of novels have won several awards, you know."

"He writes _smut_!" Naruto bellowed. "There's nothing acclaimed about that!"

Jiraiya-san waved his hand in protest. "Nonsense…Naruto-kun, was it? I've won three awards on my latest novel, _Love Love Paradise_, including 'Largest Talent' and 'Longest'—"

"Yeah, well, they're not awards for the actual writing, are they?" Naruto growled. "And, Kakashi-san, why are you here? You don't actually read that trash, do you?"

Kakashi shrugged. "Who doesn't?"

Naruto glanced at the boys behind him. "Gaara-san, Kimimaro-san, do _you _read the _Paradise _series?"

Kimimaro shook his head. "I prefer Chaucer and Poe to smut."

"What about you, Gaara?"

"I don't read straight porn. And I prefer pictures."

"See?" Naruto huffed. "Not _everyone _reads that trash, Kakashi-san!"

Kakashi snorted. "You three don't count; you work in a bookstore. Obviously, you're going to be a little bias toward anything written this century. But the _Paradise _series has depth! The imagery Jiraiya uses to describe when Helena-chan and Miroku-kun are in the janitor's closet at their office—"

"Whatever, Kakashi-san," Naruto muttered. "It's not like I have a choice, anyway. I don't own this bookstore; I can't control who is invited to book signings and who isn't. When does this signing start, anyway?"

Kimimaro glanced at his watch. "In about five seconds."

Naruto glanced out the door and realized the incredibly long line that had suddenly appeared. He gulped, never having seen this many people at the bookstore in his life. "S—So I guess that's why there's three of us working today, right? A—Are you sure that's enough?"

"Iruka-san's coming in to work today, too," Kimimaro explained.

"For once," Gaara muttered before heading over and opening the door.

"Shouldn't you hide, Kakashi-san?" Naruto asked worriedly. "I don't think even four of us could handle a crowd of this size with _two _famous people in the room."

"Three," Kakashi corrected with a wink. "I saw your picture in _Hiroto's Progress_. Although, I find it hard to believe that you work in a bookstore by day and whore yourself out by night."

"It's not true," Naruto growled.

"I know, Naruto-kun," he said, chuckling. "I heard you'll be on TV tonight. Hey, hit me up whenever you're bored, okay? I gave you my cell, right?"

"Yeah, Kakashi-san. Hey, you're covering for _Hiroto's Progress _next month, right? I'll pick up a copy."

Kakashi waved before sneaking out the back door. His hand was on the knob to let himself outside from the back room when it turned on its own. The door opened, revealing a very frazzled-looking brunette with a large scar across his nose.

"Oh!" the man yelped, startled, having practically run into Kakashi. "Gomen! I'm late, so I'm in a bit of a hurry and wasn't paying attention to where I was going."

"Ah… You work here?"

The brunette nodded. "Y—Yeah. I'm Iruka. I own this bookstore, but I also teach during the school year." A look of realization passed over his face as he finally recognized who he had almost run into. "Y—You're Hatake Kakashi-san!!"

Kakashi pressed a finger to his cloth-covered lips. "That's why I'm leaving. I came early to get my copy of _Love Love Paradise _signed so I wouldn't have to deal with any rabid fans. Ano… Then you know Naruto-kun, right?"

Iruka laughed. "Of course I know Naruto-kun! He's like a son to me! His father and I were friends…before he passed away. Naruto was put in the foster care system, and I would have taken him in myself—I tried, several times, actually—but I never qualified. Honestly, I would have been better than… Gomen, I'm rambling. But…how do you know him…?"

"I met him the other day at a photo shoot," Kakashi answered nonchalantly. He realized he had been checking out every inch of Iruka-san's body…and suddenly felt his own body begin to respond. "Hey… Iruka-san… You know, I think those three boys can handle working by themselves. What would you say to me taking you out for coffee?"

Iruka blushed. "I—I…" He glanced toward the closed toward that hid the shop from view. He winced when he heard Naruto's voice above the din of the crowd. "You know…this is probably a bad idea leaving Naruto alone…but I think Gaara and Kimimaro can handle it. All right. Let's go."

On the other side of the door, the three workers were swamped. Naruto was in charge of keeping everyone in an orderly line, Kimimaro made the transaction with whomever wanted a copy of Jiraiya-san's novels, and Gaara was in charge of helping any customer who _wasn't _a part of Jiraiya's fan mob.

By the time the book signing was over at four, the trio was past the point of exhaustion. Kimimaro and Gaara went amongst the aisles and picked up any books that had fallen off the shelves and rearranged any that had gotten out of alphabetical order while Naruto swept the floor. Jiraiya carried the boxes of unsold books to the back room while Naruto counted out his percentage of pay. Grabbing the cash, Jiraiya was gone in the blink of an eye.

"You know," said Gaara as he reclined against the last shelf, "Iruka-san never showed up…"

"You're right," Kimimaro added thoughtfully. "He said he was stepping out for only a few minutes but that he would be back shortly… I hope nothing happened to—"

The door opened, and a rather disheveled Iruka and Kakashi entered the shop. Iruka's face fell slightly when he noticed Jiraiya was gone.

"O—Oh… So…it's over is it?"

"IRUKA-SAN!" Naruto bellowed, pointing an accusing finger. "Where were you? And why are you with Kakashi-san?!"

Kakashi grinned beneath his mask before wrapping his arms around Iruka's waist from behind. He pressed his cloth-covered lips to the slightly shorter man's neck. "I'm sorry I kept him for so long," Kakashi answered for him. "Iruka-san just came by to tell you that you could close shop early. That's good news for you, ne, Naruto-kun? You need to get ready, don't you?"

The broom Naruto had been holding stayed upright for a full second after Naruto had already left the store. Kakashi watched Naruto bemusedly. "Has anyone ever tried registering that kid for the Olympics?"

-

Naruto felt very awkward as he stood around at Chakra Television Studio. He tugged at the clothes he had borrowed from Neji, feeling suffocated and claustrophobic. Usually he thrived on attention and large crowds, but he felt self-conscious being dressed in someone else's suit.

Sasuke came back with two bottles of Evian water. "Don't be nervous, Naruto," he said, handing him one of the bottles. "You'll be fine."

Naruto stared at the water. "Why couldn't I just have had tap water…?"

Sasuke snorted. "Yeah, right, Naruto. Like they have any water fountains around here. Oh, look… There's Neji-kun and Hina-chan… Oh! And Kisame's with them…"

Naruto watched as Sasuke's chosen bodyguard of the day, Kakuzu, stormed over to Kisame. He glanced to the left and watched Itachi stiffen before melting into the shadows. Itachi had insisted on accompanying Sasuke to the studio, and Naruto wondered for a fleeting moment if he knew Kisame would be there.

"No, I'm not leaving," Naruto heard Kisame growl. "I don't care if Itachi's here! I've been hired for the evening by Neji and Hinata."

They couldn't hear what Kakuzu said afterward, but when Neji turned his eyes toward him, even Naruto's blood froze. "My father owns Chakra Television, thank you very much, and you'd best remember it if you ever want to get hired again."

Naruto and Sasuke turned around simultaneously to hide their laughs. They saw Kakuzu storm off to the restrooms and practically fell against each other laughing. Their moment was interrupted, however, when someone came to inform them that the show would be starting in a few minutes; Naruto felt the butterflies come back once more.

"You'll be fine, Naruto," Sasuke soothed, placing a light kiss on his cheek. "It's just the evening news."

"But—But, it's _live_," Naruto protested. "What if—what if I throw up or something?"

Sasuke shrugged. "Better than being called a prostitute in a somewhat well-known magazine, made even more popular with my face on the cover."

"Yeah, I guess you're right."

Another light kiss. "Come on, you'll be fine. You even had Neji practice with you a few times, right? Isn't that what you told me on the way over here?"

"Yeah, but—" Naruto's protest was cut short by Sasuke's tongue in his mouth.

"You know, Naruto…" Sasuke's hand squeezed his ass as he pulled them closer together. "It's really not that bad…" He placed his other hand on the blonde's chest and rubbed small circles. "And afterward…if you do a good job…we'll go back to your place…and I'll give you proper congratulations. How does that sound?"

"Great," Naruto managed to say, finding it harder and harder to focus on the moment. He suddenly snapped back to himself and pushed Sasuke away. "S—Sasuke, please… I really don't want to have an erection on live television."

Sasuke snickered and winked. "They only show you from the waist up…" He noticed the slightly panicked look on his boyfriend's face and sighed. "All right, all right, fine…" He placed another light kiss on the corner of his mouth before grabbing his hand and leading him toward a blonde woman who was beckoning.

"Sasuke-kun!" the woman shouted, flashing a large, obviously fake smile at Naruto. "Sasuke-kun, I can't believe it's really you!"

"Naruto, this is Choko-san. She's anchorwoman for Chakra News."

Choko-san reached out and shook his hand. "Nice to meat you, Naruto-kun." She looked up and her jaw dropped. "Ano… Is that Neji-kun? A—And Hinata-chan?"

Naruto glanced behind his shoulder and saw the pair talking and laughing—well, Hina-chan was laughing—with Kisame. "Yeah, that's them."

Choko-san pushed Naruto out of the way, shrieking, "Neji-kuuun! Hinata-chaaan!"

"Wow, she seems a lot nicer on TV," Naruto remarked, watching as she totally ignored Kisame in order to kiss up to the Hyuuga children.

Sasuke snorted. "You have no idea… Most everyone in this business is a complete bastard…but once you put their face on the big screen, they become a completely different person."

Naruto ran his fingers through Sasuke's hair. "Well…you must be the anomaly."

"You have no idea…"

"What?"

Choko-san pushed past them once more to get to the news set. From somewhere above, someone shouted, "Quiet on the set! We're on in five!"

Once the cameras started rolling, Naruto felt his stage fright give way to excitement. His head swiveled from left to right in order to see all of what was going on. He had never been in a television studio before, especially not when they were recording live!

"We're next," Sasuke whispered.

Naruto's butterflies were back as Sasuke led him by the hand to a large table in front of a blue screen. In his head, he went over and over what advice and lines Neji had given him and prayed he wouldn't forget any of it. When he sat down, Sasuke gave his hand a comforting squeeze under the table, and he felt a little less nervous…though not much.

"…and now to our newest reporter, Kuran-san, for this breaking special."

Naruto felt his stomach churn as he saw the screen above his head switch from Choko-san to the table at which he sat. He was on screen for only a brief moment, but he felt ready to pass out.

"Thank you, Choko-san," Kuran answered from the far end of the table. "Recently, there has been a lot of spotlight on new and upcoming actor and model Uchiha Sasuke. In fact, Chakra Television even did a special on Uchiha-kun about a week ago when _Insomniac's Dream _first hit the theaters. Tonight, we have him here in our studio to clear up some questions about a recent article in the allegedly homoerotic magazine, _Hiroto's Progress_. We also have Hiroto-san here himself, as well as the mysterious blonde mentioned in the article and seen in this photograph."

Naruto looked back at the small television and saw the picture of him and Sasuke kissing. It stayed on screen for several seconds before focusing back on Kuran-san.

"Now, Hiroto-san," Kuran continued, "_Hiroto's Progress _is most well-known for its explicit adult content, mostly featuring men with other men. Can you tell me why you chose Sasuke-kun to be featured in this month's issue?"

The camera was now focused on Hiroto-san, who was grinning broadly. Obviously having dealt with the press numerous times before, he fell into the act perfectly. "Well, Kuran-san, _Hiroto's Progress _has grown so much in the past few years that we've decided to expand our market to not only gay men but straight females as well. We're still going to picture solely men in our magazine; however, we're steering away from the more mature and explicit content in order to appeal to a younger crowd."

"Why was Sasuke-kun, specifically, chosen for this transition phase?"

"Well, Kuran-san, because of Sasuke-kun's sexual appeal, for one, but namely for his sudden and booming success in the modeling world as well as with his new movie. We decided it would be in our best interests to grab Sasuke-kun at the beginning of his career and ride that wave, using his popularity to boost our own sales…"

Naruto began fading in and out of the conversation. He never watched the news because he didn't enjoy listening to adults talking to each other and pretending to care what the other had to say. He snapped to attention, however, when Kuran-san steered the conversation back toward the article.

"Now," Kuran began, his fake grin growing even wider, "after the picture with the curious blonde gentleman"—the picture of the kiss flashed on screen once more—"there was a peculiar mention about Sasuke-kun paying for men to share the night with him. Sasuke-kun, what do you have to say to these allegations?"

Sasuke scowled at the camera. "I can assure you, Kuran-san, that I have never paid for sex before in my life. I don't know where these allegations came from, but I can assure you that there's not an ounce of truth in them."

"So you have had sex before, then?"

"I don't see how that inquiry has anything to do with the article in question."

Naruto could practically see the ice crystals forming in the air at Sasuke's tone of voice.

"Which brings us to the man of the hour." The camera focused on Naruto, who smiled weakly and, blushing, brought his hand up to scratch the back of his head nervously. "The article referred to you only as 'Uzumari.' Is that your real name?"

"Ah, no," Naruto answered. "My name's Uzumaki Naruto…"

"And you're not a prostitute?"

"No! Of course not! I'm only seventeen! And I'm still in high school!"

"So you are still in school?"

"Of course!"

There was a glint in Kuran's eye that frightened Naruto. Sasuke squeezed his hand once more, and he felt decidedly less nervous.

"Now, Sasuke-kun," Kuran continued, "there is one final mystery we here at Chakra Studios would like to clear up: If Naruto was not there as a call boy when these photos were taken, what _was _he doing there?"

Sasuke smiled, and Naruto was delighted to note that it was a real smile. "Uzumaki Naruto and I are dating. He's my boyfriend."

Kuran-san looked shocked. "R—Really? Then, did you hook up _because _of the photo shoot?"

"No," Sasuke answered. He lifted his and Naruto's intertwined fingers and placed them on the table. "We started dating a few days before the photo shoot." Sasuke coyly used his free hand to guide Naruto's chin until their lips pressed together.

Naruto felt light-headed for the duration of the interview and was glad he wasn't asked any more questions as he wasn't quite sure he would have been able to answer them coherently. He was later surprised to learn that the interview in its entirety had taken less than five minutes, but for the moment, he couldn't help but dance happily back to the limo that had brought them to Chakra TV.

When the pair exited the studio, Naruto realized why pop icons needed bodyguard protection. Every female within driving distance of the studio had appeared at the door and was trying their best to touch Sasuke on the short walk to the limo. Kakuzu had his work cut out for him as he simultaneously held off the mob of screaming girls and shielded Sasuke from the unending flashes of the cameras.

"Where did they all come from?" Naruto panted once they were finally inside the safety of the limo. "And how did they get here so fast?" He jumped as one particularly voracious female launched herself at the back of the limo and managed to hold on for several blocks, clawing rabidly at the back window.

Sasuke shrugged. "I've never thought about it before."

Naruto's jaw dropped. "You make it seem like this has happened before!"

Another shrug. "It happens all the time. The crowds are usually even bigger—and I'm talking about _before _I was in _Insomniac's Dream_. Now that I'm a movie star, I can expect nearly tenfold that many."

The blonde winced at Sasuke's bitter tone. A sudden wave of panic overtook him when he realized the implications of fangirls. "Wait… Does that mean we won't be able to date anymore? I mean, before, no one really knew where you were, right? But now—they've seen you on TV, and if those were just the fans from within walking distance—"

Sasuke froze when he felt the blonde grab hold of him, tears running down his cheeks.

"I mean," Naruto continued, burying his face in Sasuke's shoulder, "since we live next door, we can see each other whenever we want without worry of fangirls, but…I want to bring you places. I want to show you off. I can't stay cooped up in the apartments—I'll go crazy!"

Sasuke pushed on Naruto until he was sitting up and looking at him. "Naruto," Sasuke placated. "We'll be fine. I'm used to having stalkers and fangirls. I can take care of them. They usually just take pictures, anyway, and have me sign the occasional picture. Besides, if anything…we can go some place far away…" Sasuke suddenly got a far-off, pensive look to his eyes. He sat ramrod straight and grabbed Naruto by the shoulders. "Let's go! Let's go right now! Let's run away together! We can go anywhere—anywhere but here! Let's go to—to Sunagakure! No—that's not far enough—"

Naruto looked worried. "S—Sasuke, what are you talking about? You can't just leave your life here… What about your career? What about your family?"

Sasuke scowled. "What career? What family?" He collapsed, an exhausted pile of bones, into Naruto's lap. Closing his eyes, he mumbled, "The only thing I need in this world is you, Uzumaki Naruto…"

Naruto stared down at the defenseless boy curled up in his lap. He looked so small...so lost… So like himself…

A tan finger reached up and lazily brushed a lock of ebony hair away from bone white skin. He wanted nothing more than to curl up with the love of his life for all eternity, protecting him from everything the cruel outside world had to throw at them. Leaning down, he placed a light kiss on his forehead.

"I love you more than life itself, Uchiha Sasuke…"

-

Gaara looked up sharply from the sofa and set aside the magazine he was reading when he heard the door of Naruto's apartment open. He sighed in relief when he saw it was Naruto with Sasuke in tow. "Oh, thank God. I thought Itachi had found a way to break into your apartment…"

"Speaking of which," Naruto said with mild amusement, "how did you manage to get in here? I thought Tsunade took away your spare key…"

"She did. I borrowed Kiba's."

Kiba emerged from the bathroom. "Naruto, is that you?" he called.

"Yeah," Naruto called back. "Sasuke, too! We were going to head to his place, but Kakuzu followed us up here, and Itachi told us to clear out for a few hours."

Kiba shrugged. "All right. We can do that. Haku has the night off and wants to watch the premier of _Dancing Trees _with us."

Naruto wrinkled his nose. "Isn't that a chick flick? And why does he always want to watch movies on his nights off?"

Kiba shrugged. "You know how he is. But, Zabuza can't make it, so we'll actually be able to talk to Haku for once." He let out a short, bark-like laugh.

"Who else is going?" Naruto asked as the four of them headed back downstairs.

"Temari's meeting us there, and TenTen. Other than that, just us four and Haku. Everyone else is busy tonight."

"Or they don't want to watch such a stupid movie," Gaara grumbled, thrusting his hands in his pockets and scowling at the ground.

"You didn't have to come, Gaara," Kiba growled.

"Shit!" Naruto yelped, stopping suddenly when they exited the apartment. "Sasuke, do you need to tell Itachi? Do you need a bodyguard?"

Sasuke opened his mouth to answer when Pein appeared from the shadows. "Itachi thought you'd be sneaking off," he smirked. "He called me a few minutes ago."

The brunette glared daggers at the redhead but didn't say anything.

Before the atmosphere could get any tenser, Haku appeared out of nowhere, his springtime smile melting the snow away from the wintery atmosphere. He linked arms with Sasuke and Naruto and led the motley crew toward the theater, chatting aimlessly all the way. Half a block from the theater, however, he stopped dead in his tracks. "You know what? Call Temari and TenTen. Let's go bowling instead. I have a feeling _Dancing Trees _is going to suck."

Snickering at Haku's flippant attitude, Naruto quickly texted the girls about their abrupt change in plans as they walked two blocks eastward to the bowling alley. "You were planning this all along, weren't you, Haku?" he chuckled.

"Of course," Haku answered nonchalantly. "_Dancing Trees_? Come on! That movie would have sucked ass!"

"I was kind of looking forward to it." The boys froze, not having heard Temari creep up behind them. "Just because it's a chick flick, Haku, doesn't mean it would be terrible."

Haku shrugged. "I like chick flicks, actually, Temari. It's just that this one looked like shit."

Naruto grimaced. Whenever Temari and Haku were together, their tones with one another dropped several degrees, and it was like watching the Muslims and the Jews trying to celebrate Christmas. For some reason, these two otherwise amiable people did _not _get along with one another.

"Hi, hi!" TenTen chirruped as she bounded toward them. She placed her hands on her hips and glowered. "You weren't thinking of leaving me, were you?"

"Of course not." Haku's smile was back as he linked arms with TenTen and led her toward the bowling alley.

Temari harrumphed and mumbled something that sounded suspiciously like "whore" yet followed anyway. Ever curious, Naruto dropped back and whispered, "Hey, Temari, what's your beef with Haku? I mean, he's a really nice guy—"

"Yeah, until Zabuza's involved," Temari spat. "I mean, I'm all for sacrificing yourself for the one you love, but, _damn_, learn when enough is enough!"

"What happened between the two of you?"

Temari turned her piercing turquoise eyes toward the blonde. "Just leave it alone, will you? It doesn't concern you." She turned her gaze skyward for a few seconds before looking back apologetically. "I'm sorry, Naru-kun. I didn't mean to snap." She took a deep breath. "It's just that…Zabuza and I were in the same class in middle school…and we were sort of dating. Haku just can't get over that."

Naruto looked back at Haku, who still had his arm linked with Hinata and chatting aimlessly. Haku, the jealous type…? He couldn't picture it, yet at the same time, it seemed plausible. He made a mental note to ask Haku about it later and decided against pressing Temari for more information.

Once they were inside and were standing in line to pay for their shoes and a game, Naruto noticed Sasuke hanging back from everyone else and looking slightly embarrassed. "Hey, Sasuke?" he asked softly, concerned. "What's wrong?"

Sasuke blushed and turned away to hide it. "I've never…" The rest of his sentence was mumbled, and Naruto couldn't hear it over the noises of the bowling alley.

"I'm sorry… I didn't quite catch that. What?"

Sasuke turned back, his eyes closed and his face bright red. Louder than he meant to, he admitted, "I've  never bowled before!"

TenTen turned around and smiled. "Really, Sasuke-kun? I haven't, either!"

He turned a little less red. "R—Really?"

She nodded, still smiling. "Really really." She laughed. "Don't worry. We'll suck together."

Sasuke flashed a weak smile. "Thank you…TenTen-chan."

"Besides, you should see Gaara bowl!" Temari quipped. "We've been bowling since we were kids, and he's never bowled above a 100!"

"Is…Is that bad?" Sasuke asked, confused.

"…Well, it's not good."

Even though he had never bowled before and his ball rarely hit more than one pin at a time, afterward, Sasuke had to admit that he had a really good time. Both Temari and Naruto broke 200; Kiba had 190 points; Haku, TenTen, and Sasuke were in the low 100s; and Gaara bowled an embarrassingly low score of 52.

As they were leaving, TenTen jumped up on a bench so she was towering over the others. "And now for a post-bowling tradition—!"

"I thought you had never been bowling before," Kiba remarked.

TenTen rolled her eyes. "So? That doesn't mean I can't make up traditions! Anyway! Let's go get ice cream!!"

Pein tapped Sasuke on the shoulder and handed him a cell phone, which the brunette took warily. He made several noncommittal sounds before closing the phone gently; the expression on his face, however, could have sent the world's fiercest criminals scurrying for cover.

"What's wrong?" Naruto asked, never having seen this sort of expression before.

"Itachi," Sasuke snarled. He closed his eyes and brought his anger level back down toward normal. "I'm sorry, but he wants me to come home. Thanks for inviting me to go bowling, though. I had fun."

"You can't stay any longer?" Haku pouted.

Sasuke shook his head, his ebony locks swaying hypnotically with the simple motion. "I wish I could, but Itachi sounded pretty upset. I have to go back to Otogakure tomorrow for the movie shoot, and I have to leave around seven to get there on time." He surprised himself by having told so much about his life. Usually, he didn't offer any sort of explanation, but whenever Naruto was around…he didn't feel like acting like his usual callous self.

"Want me to walk you home?" Naruto asked.

Sasuke shook his head. "No, that's all right. I have Pein. Besides, when I get back, I have to pack and then I'm going to bed."

"You sure?"

Sasuke rocked upward onto the balls of his feet and kissed the blond lightly on the lips. "Yes, Naruto. I'll be fine." He turned to leave when he felt a light tug on his wrist. When he turned around, he could only stare into those brilliant blue eyes, full of an emotion Sasuke hadn't ever seen before.

"When will you be home?" Naruto asked worriedly as if he were afraid he would never see his love again.

"Not until next Saturday. Well, not this Saturday, but the next one."

Naruto frowned. "I—Is it…is it okay if I—I call you? I—I don't know if I can last that long without you…"

A faint smile graced Sasuke's lips. "Yeah, you can call me…but I don't know when my breaks will be. So if you leave a message, I'll call you back."

"…Okay."

Sasuke turned to leave again when he felt himself being dragged backward into a strong hug.

"I love you…"

Naruto's words tickled Sasuke's ear, and he felt a shiver race down his spine as, simultaneously, his heart skipped a beat before racing forward. He felt a light blush grace his cheeks when he realized Naruto's friends were staring. Not caring what anyone else thought and just enjoying the warmth exuded by the blond, he leaned back into the hug and whispered, "I love you, too, Naruto…but I really need to go or else Itachi will be pissed."

"…Okay."

Naruto watched the door close behind his lover and was unaware how much time passed until Gaara quite literally hit him in the back of the head.

"Ow! Teme!! What was that for?"

Gaara rolled his eyes. "We've been calling your name for nearly a minute. I suggested leaving you, but the others insisted on waiting."

"Yeah, yeah, whatever…"

-

Okay, no joke. Last time I went bowling, I bowled a 42, which was an improvement from the last time, when I bowled a 36. It would have been a 27, but my friend Dan bowled a spare for me to put me out of my misery. And the time before that I went bowling, the ball stuck to my fingers weirdly, and the ball went _behind _me instead of down the lane. And I'm sure right now you're probably thinking, "Aww, how cute! She was, what…six? Seven?" No. This was recently. I'm voting age now. (Doesn't that make you sleep more easily at night, that my vote can count for the presidential election? ;)) I just really suck at bowling. End of story. :)

Please review! :D


	12. Good Morning, Good Morning

The title of this chapter is actually taken from the same named song on The Beatles' album, _Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band_. Don't know if I needed to cite that, but there it is. :)

I'm super sorry I haven't uploaded anything in a really, really long time! :( One thing led to another, and I thought, Oh, I'll upload once I'm through with midterms. Then midterms were over and I thought, Oh, I'll upload once I finish studying for this test…. Then today I realized that I hadn't updated in almost two months!!! :O I hope you stuck out the disturbingly long hiatus with me.

Special thanks to everyone who reviewed chapter 11!!! :) (And who shared stories about their equally poor bowling skills (or really good skills), haha.) Special thanks to Kyorose, MrsRubeusHagridDursley, Moonlight Rose (It'll have a happy ending; I promise), Darklink1720, Alicefreak, Mallory, natsukileeRKOlover, cherry fantasy, Sami, moopad, aivivi, Lybe (I was wondering where you went… I printed out that list of food combos you e-mailed me, and I have it on the inside of my cupboard, haha.), Jade Rose, Nanin, zanax, dark, Kirai, and hisoka kurosaki!!!!!

Okay, so, this little chapter is a little different than my usual ones, but we'll be back to regular plot next chapter! :) Happy reading!

(Bowling update: I went bowling with a whole bunch of people in my learning-how-to-teach teaching/educator whatever class—I wanna teach children; scary, I know ;)—and I was trying to impress this boy that I have a crush on…aaaaaaaaaaaaaand I bowled a 29. Yeah. It was bad. He bowled like a 50, though, so it's all good, haha.)

UPDATE: Thanks so much to . for pointing out my Itachi/Iruka switcharoo!!

_Chapter 12: Good Morning, Good Morning_

Naruto yawned and stretched, not quite able to figure out what had awoken him. He stared at his alarm clock, wondering why he needed to wake up at nine o'clock on a Saturday morning when he wasn't working. And Sasuke wasn't coming back for another week…

Sasuke…

Naruto's heart tugged. He really missed his boyfriend, his porcelain doll…

He giggled suddenly, imagining Sasuke as a China doll, set upon a shelf for all to see, in a cute little dress with frills around the edges. The skin was the right color for such a display, but the scowling expression upon the small doll wouldn't fit.

Suddenly, the blond bolted upright. "SASUKE!" he shouted before grabbing his cell phone. Today, Sasuke had until ten before he had to get ready for the set, yet he had asked Naruto not to call him until nine so he could get a full eight hours of sleep. Naruto waited until the clock read 9:01 before quickly dialing Sasuke's number.

Sasuke rolled over and answered his phone. "He—He—Hello?" he asked around a large yawn.

"Good morning, Sasuke," Naruto answered just as sleepily. "I'm sorry I woke you up…"

Sasuke smiled. It was true the phone had brought him roughly out of dreamland, but the Naruto of real life was far better than any Naruto of his dreams. "No, that's all right. I needed to get up anyway. So…did you just wake up, too?"

"Yeah…" Naruto rubbed the back of his head sheepishly. "I set an alarm to call so I wouldn't miss you."

"So… What are you doing today?"

"Well, yesterday was Hina-chan's birthday, so Kiba and Neji are throwing her a surprise party. Well…it was Kiba's idea and Neji did most of the planning. They've been fighting over whose ideas to use for the past few days, so I'll be interested to see what they finally come up with as a compromise."

"Can you tell Hina-chan I got her a present while I was here and that I'll give it to her when I get back?"

"Aww, you got her a present? You didn't have to, you know…"

"I know, but…" Sasuke shifted uncomfortably. Under normal circumstances, he wouldn't have even thought about giving an acquaintance any sort of gift, but…he could almost _feel _Naruto's personality rubbing off on him. It was like he wanted to—

To what, exactly? Honestly, Sasuke didn't know. He could feel himself changing, but he wasn't sure what he was changing into…and whether it was good or bad.

"But, I feel like I owe her something," Sasuke continued. "I mean, she did help me out a lot with the whole magazine issue. Without her and Neji's help, my career would have ended almost overnight. I'm not even sure if _The Seven Suns _would have completed filming."

Naruto snickered. "Sasuke, it's not a big deal. It's just a birthday gift! You sound like you have to justify why you got her something. It's just a really sweet gesture."

"I know, but…I've never made a 'sweet gesture' before. And I'm pretty new to this whole birthday gift thing."

Naruto finally rolled the rest of the way out of bed and paced his apartment in his boxers while he talked to his boyfriend. "What'd you get her, anyway? I got her a gift card and a bottle of soap. Girls like soap, right? That's why they always smell nice, I think."

"How would I know what girls like?" Sasuke scoffed. "You've seen my dick; you know I'm not one."

"Well, then, what'd you get her, Mr. Smarty Pants?"

"An autographed picture of Hatake Kakashi."

There were a few seconds of silence before Naruto huffed, "Well, damn, Gina! I'm almost glad you won't be there! Soap is shit next to that! Wait…I thought you were in Otogakure! Kakashi-san lives here in Konoha! How'd you get his autograph?"

Sasuke glanced at his clock before reluctantly climbing out of bed, not wanting to leave the warmth of the covers. "Didn't you know? We're in _The Seven Suns _together. He actually has a relatively minor role, but he's in town for filming right now. He talks a lot about you, actually, asks me lots of questions. But, look, Naruto, I'm sorry, I've got to go. Please give Hina-chan my best. Love you, bye."

"Wait! Sasuke! What did you tell him about me? Teme!!!" He glared angrily at the phone when he realized Sasuke had already hung up. He quickly texted, "I love you, too" before tossing the phone angrily on the bed. "Meanie," he pouted.

Kiba shifted as noiselessly as he could out from under Hinata's bare arm. When he was freed, he stared for a few moments at her peaceful face before climbing in the shower.

Hinata opened her lavender eyes a fraction of an inch when she heard the water running in the bathroom. A small smile graced her lips as she rolled over onto her back, pulling the sheet up to cover her bare body.

When Kiba had first asked her out what seemed like ages ago, she thought the little ruffian was kidding. Not wanting to turn her back on Naruto-kun, she declined his advances over and over before finally agreeing on going on _one _date. Before the night was over, she realized her heart had betrayed her blond idol and had fallen for the dark-haired dog lover. By their sixth date, they were an official couple, and Hinata was shocked to realize she liked Naruto-kun as no more than a friend.

Not wanting to get out of bed, she sighed before wrapping the bedsheet around her nude form and entering the bathroom to brush her teeth. As she brushed, she kept her eyes trained on the silhouette of her lover through the shower curtain. Not wanting to wait any longer for a shower, she shed the sheet and, pulling back the curtain, climbed over the lip of the tub to join Kiba under the stream of water.

Kiba kissed Hinata lightly on the cheek before taking her left hand in his and kissing the small diamond ring on her third finger. "I love you, Hyuuga Hinata," he said lowly.

His hair was plastered to the side of his face, and Hinata giggled, unable to rid her mind of the image of a wet dog. She wrapped her arms around his neck before pressing her body against his. "I love you, too, Inuzuka Kiba."

Shikamaru groaned and rolled over so his back faced the now open window. He used a pillow to shade his face from the malevolent stream of light only to have it ripped away from his grip.

"Wake up, Shikamaru," Neji growled, throwing the covers from his boyfriend's form.

Shikamaru brought his hand up to shade his eyes. "Neji… I love you and all, but…what are you doing in my house at"—he glanced at the clock—"eight thirty in the morning?"

"Hinata's surprise party starts at noon, and I need you to come with me to set up some last minute decorations."

"Ah, so troublesome…," Shikamaru noted before grudgingly crawling out of bed.

Neji rolled his eyes as Shikamaru entered the bathroom and lazily pushed the door so that it didn't close all the way. "Whatever, Shikamaru. You know I'll make it up to you later."

"Is that a promise?" Shikamaru asked around his toothbrush.

Even though the door hid his figure from view, Neji turned around so Shikamaru didn't have a chance at seeing the smile cross his face. "Whatever, Shi-kun. Just hurry up and get your lazy ass dressed. I'll be in the kitchen making breakfast."

Shikamaru washed the toothpaste down the drain, unable to keep a smile of his own from his face. His boyfriend's icy tone was lightened by the use of his familial nickname. As he shucked his boxers and climbed into the shower, he thought back to when he and Neji had first started dating. It had started as a poorly acted joke. While Hinata and Kiba were busy making out and Naruto was off chasing Sakura's skirt and Gaara sat moodily in the corner, Neji and Shikamaru were often left alone together for long periods of time.

Neji was the first to bring up the subject. He was in one of his lighter moods and had noted, albeit in a bitter tone, "Wouldn't it throw everyone off if we were to date?"

Shikamaru merely shrugged before answering, "Tch, how troublesome."

A few days later, Neji's light mood had worn off, and he was scowling viciously at his cousin from across the lunchroom. In an act of—well, he wasn't quite sure what it was, and he had honestly hoped for a more dramatic gesture—he had grabbed Shikamaru by the back of the head and kissed him roughly. He might have achieved the reaction he was aiming for had Hinata actually been paying attention and had Shikamaru not licked his lips and remarked, "Neji-kun, you taste like cafeteria food."

Not even a week later, Shikamaru approached Neji, his hands stuffed in his jeans pockets and a scowl on his face. "Hey, Neji-kun, I was wondering… If it's not too much of a bother… I was going to go down to the mall and do some shopping, and since Naruto's busy…want to go with?"

Neji had almost told him no, but then decided, "What the hell?"

Shikamaru smirked when he remembered he and Neji getting escorted out of the fitting room by the manager of the store. In all fairness, the manager thought they were shoplifting and had been beyond surprised to find two half naked young boys making out. In the end, they had been told off for loitering.

After showering and dressing, Shikamaru slicked his still wet hair into a ponytail and headed out to the kitchen, eagerly wondering what sort of post birthday party festivities Neji had in store for him.

Gaara blinked sleepily when he drew the shower curtain back and saw Temari at the sink applying her make-up. "You could have told me you were in here," Gaara growled as he pulled his towel from the rack.

Temari shrugged. "Not like it really matters. It's not like there's anything to look at."

Snarling, Gaara took up an eyeliner pencil and held it dangerously close to her forehead. "Take that back, bitch."

The blonde batted aside her brother's hand with a snigger. "You might have pulled it off had that eyeliner not been yours. Now, stop bothering me and get out of here before I burn you with this flat iron."

Gaara entered his room and let his towel fall after closing the door behind him. Gone were the days where his siblings took his threats seriously. In all honesty, he missed the days when he had both Kankuro and Temari cowering in fear.

But then Uzumaki Naruto walked into his life, and everything changed.

Naruto had that effect on everyone he met. There was just something about him that made people want to change themselves for the better. He seriously wondered if Naruto even noticed the changes he was causing in those around him. Probably not, Gaara mused. The boy was such a "people magnet" that to keep track of everyone he had ever met and see if they've changed any…it would make anyone dizzy.

And yet…Naruto never forgot a name or a face. And if he did, he never anxiously danced around the subject, like most people, pretending they really hadn't forgotten; he emboldened himself to walk right up to them and demand they repeat their name until he could remember it.

A rare smile replaced the usual scowl atop Gaara's lips. In all honesty, Naruto deserved happiness himself. How he had managed to remain so cheerful despite neither of his parents being alive, one might never know. And yet, he still managed to remain a regular fucking ball of sunshine.

In all honesty, Naruto deserved Sasuke.

Gaara froze, and his heart stopped. Seeing them together led one almost to believe in a "one true love," but what happened if two people had the _same _"one true love?" What about _his _(Gaara's) happiness? Did that count for anything?

His smile melted back into a frown. The way things were going, apparently his happiness _didn't _count for anything.

Sighing, he realized that even though he hated to admit it, he would put Naruto's happiness before his own any day. Therefore…he would let Naruto and Sasuke stay together, for they deserved each other. But…if his heart didn't choose someone to love other than Sasuke soon…he didn't know how much longer he could last.

Haku awoke to find Zabuza staring down at him. He blinked several times. "Zabuza…? What are you doing…?"

"Gazing at the most beautiful thing on the face of this planet," Zabuza answered nonchalantly as if sneaking into your boyfriend's house in the wee hours of the morning just to stare at him was the most normal thing of all.

Haku giggled. "Well, stop it. It's weird…"

"I don't want to," Zabuza said, trying to pull off a pout, which couldn't really be seen around his mask. "You're too beautiful. I can't look away."

"You're too kind," Haku answered sarcastically, rolling his eyes. "And I haven't even put on my make-up yet. Speaking of which, you picked up Hina-chan's present, right?"

"Of course. I had it wrapped, too. You know how I am with wrapping packages…"

Haku winked. "Yes. You're much better at _un_wrapping them… Are you going to be able to make it to the party, then? Or do you have to work?"

Zabuza slid his shirt up over his head before climbing under the covers with his boyfriend. "I asked for today off," he answered, yawning. "Besides, I just got off work about six hours ago. I don't have to go back in until tomorrow morning around three."

Haku frowned. "Why do you have to work so much? I never get to see you anymore. And when I do, it's because you've snuck in."

"That's just it," Zabuza growled. "Your parents fucking hate me. Why _shouldn't _I get to see the love of my life when they practically fucking _abandoned _you—"

"I told you…I got lost…"

"Yeah, well, they didn't do a very good job looking for you. But, that's not the point—or maybe it is. But…soon I'll be getting a raise, and then I'll be making enough money to sustain the both of us. I've already picked out the apartment, where we can live together. Think about it, Haku—just the two of us, with an apartment all to ourselves…"

Haku shifted anxiously. "But…what about when I go off to college? Wouldn't it be better just to—"

"Haku," Zabuza snapped, "we've gone over this countless numbers of times. I'll follow you to the ends of the Earth. I love you more than my own life. I will drop everything for you. Please let me be there for you."

"But…" Haku turned his face away from Zabuza. "I don't want…" The rest of his sentence was lost as he buried his face in his pillow, but Zabuza had heard this argument enough times to know exactly what was being said.

"Your life is my life, Haku…and I wouldn't have it any other way, okay?"

"…Okay. I love you, too."

"So, you're saying you're a teacher?" Kakashi asked around his cigarette.

Iruka wrinkled his nose at the smell. "How can you smoke first thing in the morning?"

"It's the only time I smoke," Kakashi answered. "Mornings are when I collect my thoughts and relax, but…if it bothers you, I'll quit."

"Really?" Iruka was taken aback. Sure, they had slept together, and sure, Kakashi had invited him to spend a few nights at his hotel in Otogakure, but were they really close enough for Kakashi to say such things? And, where exactly _was _their relationship? "I mean—don't do anything just because I don't like it. I—I don't want to change anything about you…"

Kakashi smiled before putting out his cigarette. "You already have, Iruka-love."

Iruka giggled, thinking this was another of Kakashi's games. "Yeah, right!"

The silver-haired man rolled over so he was straddling Iruka, who blushed. "Iruka, I will do anything for you—_anything_." He leaned closer and nibbled lightly on his ear. "I think I've fallen in love with you."

Iruka gasped at the intimate contact as well as the words. "D—Do you really mean that?"

"I never say anything I don't mean."

Iruka felt his heart expanding against his chest cavity. Never before had he felt someone say those words with such intensity. Iruka had had several lovers in the past, and while Iruka had said the "L" word with every iota of his being, the word had never been repeated with the same passion and intensity. He had sworn he would never let his heart belong to another, too afraid to have it broken yet another time—

But, with Kakashi…things were different. While they hadn't known each other for very long, Kakashi had already dedicated his life to his new lover. And now…dropping the "L" word…

Then again, it was preceded by "think." If Iruka were to dedicate himself to another man—

Almost as if Kakashi knew what was going through his mind, he amended, "I take that back. I _know _I've fallen in love with you." He leaned forward and placed a gentle kiss atop his nose. "And…Iruka, don't feel obligated to say anything back until you're ready, but…I…" Iruka had never seen Kakashi blush, but the sight was very becoming. "I…I would like to be your boyfriend, Iruka…if—if you want…"

Iruka leaned forward and wrapped his arms around the silver-haired model. "I—I would like that very much." And with those words, he made up his mind. He pressed his lips to his ear, his chin brushing against his dangling earring, and whispered, almost as if he were afraid if the words were said any louder, they would escape and would fall into nothingness, "I love you with all my heart, Hatake Kakashi."

Kakashi pressed their bodies together until Iruka could feel nearly every muscle of Kakashi's defined abdomen against his. "I'm so glad to hear that Iruka. I don't know how I've lived without you… I'll do anything you ever ask of me. I love you so much…"

In a nearby hotel, Uchiha Itachi had already drained nearly half a bottle of Scotch from the mini-fridge despite not having eaten any breakfast. So what if he had several important meetings later that day? He could decide Sasuke's future better drunk and numb than sober with the gut-wrenching ache in his heart anyway.

All his life, he had driven away everyone he loved. It hurt less never having loved than falling in love and having them taken away. He did love his little brother, yes, but Sasuke was different. Sasuke was his little brother, and it was his job to protect him. But…he didn't want Sasuke getting hurt, either. Therefore, he needed to eliminate anyone who might hurt him by leaving him.

Leaving…

He hadn't meant for Kisame to get so close to his heart. By the time he realized he had fallen in love, it was already too late. He had held on even longer after the discovery, trying to convince himself that it was merely lust.

Kisame just has a monster-sized cock, Itachi rationalized. It's not love; it's just lust.

But it was both…and Itachi knew this. But…he didn't want to give up the best thing that had ever happened to him…

But he had to…

Kisame was a bodyguard for Akatsuki. He put his life on the line to protect mere strangers every day. What if, one day, some crazy psycho came by and put a bullet through the shark's heart? What would Itachi do then? He wouldn't be able to go on. He would take his own life…but then—what would happen to Sasuke?

In a way, Itachi almost loathed his little brother. By swearing to protect his little brother, he had given up his own chance at happiness. And yet…Itachi wouldn't have in any other way.

If only there were a chance he could have _both_—

No, Itachi reprimanded himself. No, there's no way. It was right for you to cut it off like that. You had grown too close to him.

_Then why do I feel like I'm about to die…?_

Back in Konoha, Kisame was thinking the same thing. He had been startled awake by a nightmare. Recently, his dreams were forcing him to relive through the break-up over and over, and he was less than pleased.

_Why would Itachi cut it off like that? _Kisame growled. _There was no fucking reason…_

But Kisame knew Itachi too well to know exactly why he had cut off the relationship: he was scared—scared of falling in love and then having something happen where his love was taken away from him.

_It was a little hypocritical, then, for him to break up with me,_ Kisame snarled inwardly. _And did he even stop to think about _my _feelings? Bastard._

Of course he had! Kisame knew about Itachi's trust issues, and that even if he had fallen in love with the shark, he didn't completely trust him. He wanted to—oh, he _desperately _wanted to…but he couldn't. He just couldn't take that final step. Because, what if—what if Kisame didn't love him back?

"Fuck 'what if'!" Kisame suddenly roared. He jumped at the sound of his own voice shattering the pleasant silence of the early morning.

He brushed his hand across his cheek and was surprised when it came away wet. Had he been crying and not even realized it…?

"I will _not _cry over Itachi anymore!" he snarled.

And yet…he knew that wasn't true. The pieces of his broken heart couldn't be repaired that easily. He had given too much of himself to Itachi for the repairs to happen so quickly.

Haruna Sakura had never thought she would fall for Rock Lee. She also never thought she would dye her hair pink and then cut if all off just because she read in an interview somewhere that Uchiha Sasuke liked girls with short hair, and look where that got her.

Oh well. At least Lee seemed to like her short hair.

In fact, Lee seemed to like everything about her. She had never been complimented so many times in her life, and when it came from Lee…she felt it really came from his heart.

There was a knock on her door, and Sakura slowly swung her legs over the side of her bed to answer it. "Lee!" she gaped. "Wh—What are you doing here?"

Lee held out a tray of toast and eggs and a glass of orange juice. "I'm bringing you breakfast!" he reported cheerily.

"…Why?"

Lee grinned. "Because I love you, Sakura."

She wouldn't have been able to keep the smile from her lips if she tried. Blushing, she moved aside to let Lee into the room before closing the door. "Thank you, Lee. That means a lot to me…"

"It's just some toast and eggs… It's not that big of a deal."

"I wasn't talking about the breakfast."

"Oh."

There was a long, awkward pause where Sakura stood shivering in her T-shirt and shorts across from Lee who stood unnaturally still with the breakfast tray.

Lee shifted uncomfortably. "Sakura…I—"

He was cut off quickly by a pair of lips pressed against his. "I—I know I haven't said it before, Lee," said Sakura suddenly, burying her face in the crook of his shoulder, "but…I really do—love you."

"Sakura…" Lee lifted her chin lightly until he met her piercing emerald gaze. "You have no idea how happy that makes me…"

They kissed again, and Lee set the breakfast tray on her computer desk, where it was quickly forgotten.

Kimimaro sighed frustratedly. Once again, Iruka had signed up for hours at Kyuubi Bookstore, and once again, he had called the white-haired teen at the last minute asking him to take over his shift. If Iruka hadn't been his boss, he would have told him to shove it, but, as it were, Iruka was responsible for his weekly paycheck. He probably wouldn't have minded—he needed the money, badly. However, today just so happened to be the day where he had the appointment where he _spent _most of his badly needed money.

Kimimaro winced when he accidentally hit his arm against the cash register. Apparently he had another bone spur on his forearm…

Kimimaro had an extremely rare bone disease linked to Fibrodysplasia Ossificans Progressiva (or FOP, for short). (A/N: FOP is a real disease, and scientists are still looking for a cure. Google "IFOPA" to learn more about how you can help those with Fibrodysplasia.) However, instead of his muscles and other connective tissue turning to bone, at a young age, he began to grow extra bones from his skeletal tissue. The only "cure" for the time being, unfortunately, was to have the extra bones surgically removed.

Which was why Kimimaro was strapped for cash.

He didn't want anyone to know about his debilitating disease, so he approached the doctors with "aggressive bone spurs" and went as seldom as possible—at least until the pain was too much for him to take. He tried to go to as many different doctors as possible, sometimes even using a fake ID.

He slammed his fist against the counter, cursing. Why did he have to be so different? Perhaps it would have been easier if his parents had stuck around long enough to help out.

"Stop complaining, Kimimaro," he ground out to the silence of the store. "There are more people out there who need the help more than you do. I mean, what about Naruto-kun? He grew up without parents, too, and he's getting along just fine…"

The bell tinkled above the shop, and Kimimaro looked up in time to see Gaara enter. "Gaara?" Kimimaro said, surprised. "What are you doing here? You're not scheduled until tomorrow…"

Gaara shrugged. "I figured Iruka would have cancelled on his shift again and made you pick it up." He glanced sideways at the near albino and said almost accusingly, "You don't have to take up his shifts all the time, you know. It would serve him right if you said 'no' every once in a while."

Kimimaro shrugged back. "I need the money."

The redhead jumped up on the counter, his legs dangling over the edge. "You always need money, Kimimaro. What do you spend it all on?"

"Nothing."

"Tch. Whatever."

"Why do you care, anyway?"

"I don't. I was just curious."

For a small moment, Kimimaro was afraid Gaara would leave the store. For several years now (since the first day they had worked together, in fact), Kimimaro's heart had belonged solely to the insomniac. At first, he hadn't wanted to admit he was gay. In the end, he realized he wasn't "straight" or "gay" but that he loved Gaara and Gaara alone.

"Gaara—"

Kimimaro watched almost in slow motion as his hand reached out to grab Gaara and hold onto him forever as the redhead jumped down from the counter. As Gaara had stepped aside, Kimimaro's hand hit the counter, and a searing pain went up his arm. Apparently another bone "spur" had grown from the palm of his hand exactly where he hit the counter. The skin broke open to reveal a large, white bone sticking from the skin.

Gaara turned to face Kimimaro and stared in shock at the bone sticking from his hand. "Well…that doesn't look good. Come on. We need to get you to the hospital."

"I—I'm fine," Kimimaro gasped in pain, trying to hide his deformity from his crush. "I—It's nothing…"

Gaara rolled his eyes and managed to hold onto Kimimaro's twisting wrist. "Whatever. Come on. I'll take you. I stole Temari's car this morning, so we don't even have to take the bus. And afterward, we'll go to Hina-chan's birthday party, okay?"

Kimimaro nodded as best he could. He tried to hold back his tears as Gaara wrote a quick note for the front door that the store was closed for the day and if anyone needed anything to check out the website. He slid into the passenger seat and kept his eyes screwed shut on the short trip to the emergency room. After quickly parking the car, Gaara held lightly to Kimimaro's upper arm as they entered the front doors.

After rummaging in his pocket for a few moments as Kimimaro filled out the entrance forms, Gaara pulled out a small card and handed it to the front nurse.

"Ah!" gasped the nurse as she took the card from Gaara. "So _you're _the famous doctor's son!"

The redhead shoved his hands into his pockets angrily and scowled at the floor. "Sa ne?" he offered as his only reply.

"Proceed immediately through that door, and it'll be the third room on your left."

"What was that?" Kimimaro asked when they reached the room.

"My father's a fucking ass," Gaara spat. "He gave Temari, Kankuro, and I a card that gives us priority over the other patients."

"Can he do that?"

Gaara shrugged. "This is his hospital. He can do whatever the fuck he wants, I guess."

A doctor entered the room, and Kimimaro was unable to get any more information from the suddenly stoic redhead. The doctor introduced himself as Toshiro-san before examining Kimimaro's multiple "bone spurs."

"How often do you get these?" Toshiro-san asked, almost amazed as he examined the albino boy's palm. "Have you had them before?"

Kimimaro shrugged. "Sa ne?"

"Do you have anymore?"

Kimimaro's usually porcelain complexion suddenly flushed to deep crimson. "Yes." He lifted up his shirt and pointed out several areas of his lower abdomen where bone was beginning to push through. He could feel Gaara's gaze on his skin, and he suddenly felt overly self-conscious, wanting to crawl in a corner and hide.

However, Gaara's gaze was not on the horrific bone "spurs" but on the two piercings on either of Kimimaro's hipbones.

"I didn't know you had piercings…"

Kimimaro flushed an even deeper shade of scarlet when he realized how close to his nether region Gaara's eyes were. "Y—Yeah. I—They're pretty new…"

"I have a piercing, too," Gaara added. "I'll show it to you once the doc leaves. I'm also thinking about getting my tongue pierced."

A deeper shade of garnet as Kimimaro's mind took an immediate turn toward what delicious things could be done with a tongue ring. The doctor excused himself from the room, and Kimimaro said lamely, "A—Ah yeah, tongue rings are—are, uh…cool."

Gaara snorted. "Whatever. I just want one so I can give better head. Oh, hey, doctor's gone. I'll show you my other piercing." Without warning, Gaara stripped his pants, and Kimimaro almost fainted when he realized the boy was devoid of any undergarments…and almost fainted again when he realized where the piercing was exactly.

Gaara took his cock in his hand and ran his thumb across the tip where the piercing was. "I didn't really want it at first," Gaara admitted before pulling his pants back up, "but Naruto convinced me, although I don't think he knew what he was talking about at the time. The only downside is that every time something brushes against the ring, I get this fucking hard-on that refuses to go away." He looked up, and even though Kimimaro was naturally very pale, he looked even paler than usual. "Hey… Are you all right?"

Despite that nearly all the blood had drained from his head, Kimimaro managed to nod. "Y—Yeah… Yeah, no, it's just the, uh…pain…from—from my hand."

"…Right."

Jiraiya woke up from a very nice dream to find himself in an even nicer one. He disentangled himself from the four women sharing his bed for the night and headed to the bathroom, a lecherous grin across his face. Once he had done his business, he headed back into the bedroom in hopes to start up another round before he kicked the women out of the house.

However, instead of finding four beautiful women, he found Tsunade-san sporting a blood-chilling glare.

Jiraiya laughed nervously and put up his hands defensively. "Heh, heh… Uh, Tsunade-san… You're looking, uh, beautiful today…!"

"Cut the bullshit, Jiraiya!" Tsunade bellowed. "I _agreed _to let you stay here at my place after you _begged _me for several hours! Remember that you're here on _my _terms and that I could kick you out any minute! You're walking on very thin ice here, teme!!!"

"Ha ha… Hai hai, Tsunade-san! It won't happen again…!"

Tsunade tapped him roughly in the center of his chest, successfully pushing him back several inches. "It had better not! It's hard enough to sleep at night knowing you're in the room next to me, but it's even harder if you're having orgies to nearly four o'clock in the morning!!!"

"You could have joined, Tsunade…"

"In retrospect," Jiraiya remarked when he woke up on the floor several hours later, "I probably deserved that mild concussion."

-

So, whenever I read names, I usually end up only reading the first letter of the name, and my mind fills in the rest. This usually leads to complications if two or more characters' names start with the same letter—especially if the names are nearly the same number of letters long. Apparently it works when I write, too. In the above scene with Kakashi and Iruka, I kept typing "Itachi" instead of "Iruka"!! _Totally _not the same person!!!! That would have been disastrous if I hadn't caught myself and fixed it before posting this chapter!

Oh! So, I had never been to the hospital before until, like, a few months ago, when I had this crazy crazy sore throat and it was Sunday and the doc-in-the-box was closed. I was actually pretty excited 'cause it was like this new experience and all, but…after sitting in a little enclosed room with a curtain for a door for over two hours with only a small television playing a "Bonanza!" marathon for company, it quickly lost its novelty. And I left pissed because it felt like I had swallowed a cactus on fire but noooooo I didn't have strep, so I had all of the pain and none of the meds. Booo!!! Ah well. I'm fine now. :) …Don't ever want to go back to the hospital again, though. Bleh. Next time it might be more serious than a viral sore throat.

Anyway, I felt like I really needed to write that chapter. I wrote chapters one through nine in like two weeks and then hit this massive writer's block midway through chapter ten. I barely made it through the first bit of this chapter, and I was going to go immediately into Hina-chan's birthday party, but I felt I needed a little break. I didn't want it to be complete shit, so…I wrote about someone other than Naru-kun and Sa-chan! :) While I do love them, my brain almost exploded. :O But, yeah…I didn't upload the first chapters all at once just in case something like writer's block did happen. That way, you get a nice, consistent flow of chapters instead of getting, like, five or six in a week, and then having to wait another month or two for the next one.

Please review! :)


	13. I Had a Dollar but I Spent It

Okay, so, I've had maaaajor writer's block on these past couple of chapters, so I've just been trying different things to get my mind back on track. I'm actually rather pleased with how this is turning out and how you guys get to see all the sides of my writing style. You've seen my dark side with Itachi and the murder scene; you've seen my WAFF-y, romantic side with Sasuke and Naruto's date; you've seen my inner thought mode from the last chapter, where I go around to every character and show you what they're thinking; and of course, you've gotten to see my crazy ass random side. :) Enjoy! :D

Sorry it's taking me so long to update. I've been busy with school and ick. Spring semesters suck. :P But, soon finals will be over, and I'll have plenty of time to write…I hope. :(

Thanks a billion to all of my reviewers!! Thanks to natsukileeRKOlover, punky 4 you, IrisUzumaki, Alicefreak, kimi, Lybe, anit, Mallory, Distant Raen, Leeana69, and exodusess!! Thanks so much!! :)

_Chapter 13: I Had a Dollar but I Spent It on Something You'll Love_

"Naruto-kun!" Hinata called, waving happily from under a giant weeping willow. She was wearing a pale lavender party dress nearly the exact color of her eyes.

Naruto waved back before jogging over to her. "Happy birthday, Hina-chan!" he grinned, handing over her gift. "I talked to Sasuke this morning, and he gives you his best."

Hinata giggled. "Tell him I said, 'Thank you.' So, even he knew? How were Kiba and Neji able to keep everyone from telling me about my party?"

"It took a little extra convincing sometimes," Kiba teased, slipping his hand into Hinata's.

"Ne, ne, Hina-chan!" Naruto chirruped. "You look really good! If this was a surprise party, why did you come dressed up so nicely?"

"Oh, I've known about the party for several days now," answered Hinata with a grin. "Kiba talks in his sleep…and I overheard Neji talking about it on the phone."

"All right, well, I'm going to go mingle." Naruto handed Hinata his gift before making his way toward the lake. The party was at the same park where Naruto had taken Sasuke what seemed like years ago. His mind flashed back to when he had watched Sasuke dive into the lake and how the water droplets clung to his perfect ebony hair and eyelashes—

Naruto bumped into something very solid and blushed when he realized he had just run into a tree. He rubbed the back of his head embarrassedly and hoped no one had seen. Hearing Kiba's maniacal laughter from across the green as well as some intermittent snickering from others, he realized he had not come off so lucky. Skirting around the thick oak, Naruto scampered over to where Sakura and Ino were whispering secretively by the edge of the lake and away from most of the others.

"Ne, ne! What are you doing over here?" Naruto asked.

Ino glared before flipping her long, blonde hair over her shoulder. "None of your business, Naruto—"

"Matte, Ino!" Sakura interjected. "He might know something about—"

"Something about what, Sakura?" Lee bellowed excitedly. It had seemed as if the boy had materialized from thin air, striking a pose and flashing a grin at his girlfriend.

"We heard a rumor," said Ino, unable to hide her eagerness from her eyes, "that Sasuke-kun was going to finish filming early today and come back here to Konoha. Is it true?"

Naruto shrugged. "I didn't hear anything about it…but…sa ne? Who'd you hear it from?"

Sakura winked. "S-e-c-r-e-t!"

"…What?"

"Naruto-kuuuun!!!"

Naruto whipped his head around toward the source of the call and saw Ten-Ten waving energetically. "Naruto-kun! We're playing limbo! You in?"

"Hell yes!" he called back, dashing over as quickly as possible. "I _love _limbo!"

Shino and Neji held the limbo stick while the rest of the party-goers went under it. Neji and Kiba really had done an excellent job putting the party together. They had nearly the entire park to themselves, and nearly every one of their friends had arrived to join in the celebration. On the shore of the lake were several canoes if one had the desire to row about on the lake. Some were complements of the park, but most had been rented. There were several picnic tables scattered across the green, each of which held various refreshments.

Naruto, who was actually somewhat of a pro at limbo, had gotten out of the game before he realized the token redhead was missing. "Hina-chan, have you heard from Gaara?"

When Hinata shook her head, Temari looked worried. "He left the house this morning. I had assumed he was going to get your present or something and would be here soon after. I don't know where he could be…"

Naruto and Temari simultaneously pulled out their cell phones and texted him.

"You don't think he could have fallen asleep on the bus, do you?" Naruto asked worriedly, sending the same text five times in a row.

"He's not narcoleptic," Temari snapped, then realized, "Oh my God, he took my car this morning. What if he fell asleep behind the wheel?" Worry shining clearly in her eyes, she sent the same text as many times as possible as quickly as she could.

Naruto's phone rang, and he quickly answered it without bothering to look at the caller ID. "Gaara?" he asked anxiously.

"No, it's Kimimaro. Gaara's right here. He's trying to delete all these texts you keep sending him…"

Temari ripped the phone from Naruto. "Gaara? Gaara, where are you?"

"It's Kimimaro," Naruto told her, pouting, "and that's my phone…"

"Gaara's right here," Kimimaro answered. "Hold on…"

"Temari, quit fucking texting me," Gaara spat. "If you keep texting me over and over, I don't have enough time to send a response. Anyway, I'm fine. We're on our way over right now. I took Kimimaro to the hospital."

Temari sighed with relief before relaying the message to Naruto. Into the phone she bellowed, "Don't you ever scare me like that again, do you hear me? What if you had been in an accident? Then what would have—"

Naruto, now knowing that Gaara was all right, left Temari, letting her mother her brother to her heart's content. Usually he would have calmed down the blonde, but it was different with those two. Having to grow up without a mother and a drunken, deadbeat father, Temari had personally taken it upon herself to be the glue that held the siblings together in some semblance of a family. Gaara needed to know that despite everything, someone still loved and worried about him.

Hungry and noticing Choji over by the refreshments, Naruto strolled toward the nearest picnic table and began picking through the treats for his favorite snacks. He looked up suddenly when he noticed someone on the other side of the table.

"Zabuza! I didn't see you earlier! I saw Haku, but I thought you couldn't make it…"

Zabuza smirked. "Of course I made it. I wouldn't miss Hina-chan's party for the world."

"Well… I'm glad you made it. We haven't seen much of you lately. You're always working."

"Yeah…"

"Don't fill up on too much junk food!" TenTen chirruped, bouncing over to the table. "I heard Anko-san herself made a special cake just for the party! I heard it's a special, secret recipe that she only makes on special order!"

"How do you know all this?" Naruto asked, bemused.

"Because I had to pick it up this morning."

Naruto's mouth was open to answer, but at that moment, he saw Gaara and Kimimaro walking across the field, each with a present in their hands. Both Temari and Naruto reached the pair at the exact same time. Temari pulled her brother into a hug, and Naruto took his phone back from her hand.

"Oh! Ne, ne, Kimimaro, ano sa!" Naruto bounced, suddenly remembering something Gaara had told him earlier. "Gaa-kun said you were in the hospital! Are you all right? What happened?"

Kimimaro shrugged. "I—I fell."

Naruto raised an eyebrow questioningly, but decided not to press the matter.

Kimimaro shifted awkwardly before pointing at the present. "Where…do I put this?"

-

The cake really was delicious, just as TenTen had hinted. Every moment of Hinata's party seemed perfect, flawless. When it was time for presents, Neji and Shikamaru, who had previously been out on the lake, had suddenly disappeared and wouldn't return anyone's calls.

"Let's just start without them," Kiba suggested. "They're probably off celebrating Hinata's birthday in their own way."

Hinata stood up on a table so she towered over everyone. She blushed lightly and tapped her forefingers together nervously. "A—Ano… Before we start, there's something I would like to tell everyone… Although, I really wish Neji were here to hear this…"

"I'll keep calling Shikamaru, and Naruto can keep calling Neji," Haku said. "We can just sit here and talk until they show up."

"I'll go look for them," Zabuza announced. "They walked here, so they couldn't have gotten too far."

"I'll help look," Shino added. "You can search the east side of the lake, and I'll search the west."

"Fuck, we might as well all go," Naruto blurted, angrily snapping his phone shut. "I can't believe Neji's not picking up his phone—and on his cousin's birthday, too!"

Hinata seemed more anxious than usual, tapping her forefingers together at a maddening pace. She seemed unwilling to have everyone depart and insisted that if the lost pair wasn't found within thirty minutes, they give up the search.

They divided up into several groups in order to search faster. Naruto and Haku stayed by Hinata in the picnic area and continued alternately calling and texting the missing duo. Every once in a while, Hinata would receive a text with an update from each of the groups, but Shikamaru and Neji remained missing.

After nearly fifteen minutes, Haku's phone rang. Surprised, he nearly dropped it in his haste to answer. Glancing at the caller ID, he yelped, "It's Neji!" Flipping open his phone, he roared, "Where have you been?"

"Where are they?" Hinata asked anxiously. Naruto noticed she was paler than usual and dashed to grab her a cup of water.

Haku listened patiently to Neji's explanation, the anger melting from his face rapidly. After several seconds, he snapped, "Well, you still should have told someone. We were worried sick! And you could have at least returned our texts! All right, we'll see you in a few minutes."

The second he hung up, Naruto was on him like Michael Jackson on a five year old. "Well?" he demanded. "Where are they? What were they doing?"

But Haku merely smiled. "I can't tell you. It's a surprise."

Naruto realized Hinata still had not taken the cup of water from his outstretched hand. "Hinata, what are you—?"

But Hinata had fainted.

-

It didn't take long for the others to return to the picnic site, and by that time, Naruto had managed to revive Hinata. She was still a little pale, but she was at least standing on her own now. Not even five minutes later, Shikamaru strolled across the field lazily, his hands in his pockets and staring up at the clouds. Hinata, quickly regaining her strength, marched over to meet him and slugged him in the shoulder.

"Shikamaru!" she shouted. "Don't you ever disappear like that again!"

"Itai…" Shikamaru rubbed his shoulder before pulling his boyfriend's cousin into a one-armed hug. "Gomen, Hina-chan. We were setting up a surprise for you and had our phones off. We didn't think anyone would notice we had gone missing."

Hinata huffed and tried to turn her back to him, but Shikamaru wouldn't let go.

"I'm sure you'll like it, Hina-chan…"

Hinata glanced up at the sound of Neji's voice, and Shikamaru had to put his all into restraining the small girl from pummeling her cousin to death. Naruto, who had been watching Hinata worriedly, didn't notice the murmurs from the others until he was suddenly aware of four figures quite close by. Hinata seemed to have noticed, too, for she stopped struggling in Shikamaru's arms and stood staring directly ahead of her, her mouth slightly agape.

"H—Hatake Kakashi-sama!" she gasped breathlessly.

But Naruto was looking past the luscious model to a smaller, dark-haired boy. Without speaking, Naruto marched up to him, and buried himself in Sasuke's arms. Smiling softly, Sasuke wrapped his arms firmly around the taller blonde, placing gentle kisses in his hair.

"…didn't know you were…today," Naruto mumbled, his mouth buried in Sasuke's shirt.

"I didn't know I was coming back today, either," Sasuke answered, still smiling, "but Neji called me last night and begged me to come home for Hinata's party. This was as early as we could make it."

When Naruto finally removed his face from Sasuke's body, he saw all the girls surrounding Kakashi-san, alternately ogling and asking him rather personal questions, which he answered surprisingly willingly.

Naruto blinked. "…Why is Kakashi-san here?"

"I asked him to come," Neji answered from beside the pair. "It's part of my birthday gift to Hinata."

"Damn!" Naruto swore. "Now my present _really_ looks like shit!" He then noticed Pein as well as a fourth figure. "Umm… Neji? Did you ask Iruka-san to come, too?"

Iruka blushed, having heard Naruto's question. Even though he had practically raised Naruto after his father had died, he still felt awkward being around the others, seeing as how he was their schoolteacher.

Kakashi extracted himself from the girls (and a few boys) and swung his arm casually around Iruka's shoulders. "Everyone! I would like to announce that your teacher and I are in a nice, happy, and healthy relationship!"

While Kakashi grinned lecherously at the somewhat stunned crowd, Iruka wished he could bury himself beneath the ground. He had never been so embarrassed in his life when he noticed his students staring in awe at the two of them. It wasn't like he was embarrassed being seen with Kakashi, but the fact that these were his _students_…

"Way to go Iruka-sensei!" Kiba roared, breaking the somewhat stunned silence. A few others cat-called, and while Kakashi soaked up the attention, Iruka was only able to manage smiling weakly.

Once things had calmed down a little, Gaara tapped Hinata on the shoulder. "Hina-chan, earlier you said you had something important to tell us…"

Hinata blushed again, the way she used to when she saw Naruto, and Naruto was worried she might pass out again. She stood up on top of the picnic table, and as she looked down at everyone, she swayed slightly. "M—Mina—"

Neji's eyes were narrowed. "Hinata, you're not pregnant are you?" he spat voraciously, ready to punch Kiba at a second's notice.

"I—Iie!" Her nerves were back, and it took several deep breaths and Shikamaru's assurance that he had a firm grip on Neji before she could continue. "Mina… I have something very important to announce." She helped Kiba stand beside her before holding her left hand out to the crowd. And in an instant, her nerves were gone, and she was jumping up and down excitedly before shrieking, "Kiba and I are getting married!"

Neji realized he wasn't nearly as upset as he thought he would be when he saw the look of sheer joy on his cousin's face. Kiba kept casting wary glances in Neji's direction, as if worried he would explode any second. And while Neji did have the urge to rip Kiba's genitalia from his body, seeing them together and the happiness on Hinata's face…Neji only made a mental note that if he ever caught wind of Kiba hurting his cousin…

Neji was surprised when Hinata suddenly leapt into his arms, hugging him tightly. He tried to hide his smile from the others, but he wasn't sure if he was successfully able to keep up the Hyuuga façade or not.

"When's the wedding?" Naruto asked, finally heard above the din of the others.

"Probably next summer," Hinata answered breathlessly, "after Kiba and I's freshman year at college."

"I'm so jealous," Naruto mumbled. "I can't believe you two are already graduating while most of us are stuck with one more year of high school…"

"Who's going to be in the wedding party?" Sakura demanded.

Kiba and Hinata quickly exchanged worried looks. Although they had only just started mulling over who they wanted in the party, they had both agreed to keeping it within the family.

"Uh, we don't really know yet," Kiba answered.

Sensing danger, Naruto suddenly jumped up on the picnic table. "Hiiinaaaa-chaaan!!" he called before grabbing a present from the pile. "You never opened your presents!"

Before Hinata took the present from Naruto, she whispered in Neji's ear, "Please don't tell okaa-san and otou-san…"

"I wasn't planning on it," Neji reassured her.

-

Once the party was deemed officially over, Naruto was glad Sasuke had the limo with him. Totally and utterly exhausted, he was glad he didn't have to walk nearly a mile back to his apartment. He and Sasuke took the elevator up to the fifth floor before stumbling into the Uchiha apartment.

"Let me unpack my shit and start the laundry," Sasuke said, closing the door behind them. "You can sit here and watch TV."

Naruto ogled the large, flat-screen TV and happily sat down on the plush leather couch. Drawing a blanket over his worn out form, he flipped through several channels before drifting off.

He awoke with a start about forty minutes later. He could hear Sasuke moving about in the other room, but he couldn't quite place where he was. Slightly panicked, he wondered why the television and the lights were off. A chill raced up his spine, and he drew the blanket closer around his body.

A pair of red lanterns materialized out of thin air as Itachi opened his eyes. The elder Uchiha was sitting on the coffee table between the couch and the television, eyes fixated on Naruto's sleeping form.

Another shiver overtook Naruto's body when Itachi opened his mouth to speak, the whites of his teeth catching what little light was in the room and shining brilliantly. "Hello, Uzumaki-san." His voice was a dark velvet, almost erotic growl, yet it contained a deep danger. "Having a nice nap?"

The overhead light turned on, and for a moment, Naruto thought he had gone blind. Itachi stood up from where he was sitting on the coffee table and turned toward his furious younger brother, whose hand was still on the light switch.

"What is it, Sasuke-kun?" Itachi asked, feigning innocence. "Naruto and I were just having a friendly little chat."

Without addressing his older brother, yet glaring daggers at his person, Sasuke said to Naruto, "Naruto, I didn't realize you were so tired. Why don't you go get in my bed? I'll join you as soon as I put the laundry in the dryer."

Naruto nodded before skirting around Itachi to head into the bedroom. He crawled into bed, but he was suddenly wide awake, his ears straining for any noise of Itachi. He heard no footsteps, but somehow he knew Itachi had retreated into his bedroom. A few minutes later, he heard the dryer start, and soon after, Sasuke was in his room, closing and locking the door behind him. Without speaking, Sasuke stripped down to his boxers before climbing in next to his boyfriend, wrapping his arms tightly around the taller boy.

After several minutes, Naruto had grown restless. "I can't sleep…," he whined.

One minute. Two… Then a sigh. "Me neither." Another sigh. "I'm sorry about Itachi."

A shrug. "It's fine. I can take care of myself."

"So can Kisame, and look where that landed him."

The silence that passed between them was thick and awkward, neither quite able to bring forth the topic of conversation that weighed most heavily on their minds. Finally, Sasuke was able to break the silence:

"Naruto, watch out. Itachi's trying to take you away from me."

"Why?"

Sasuke shrugged and tightened his grip around his lover. "Sa ne? I must have pissed him off somewhere along the way… I guess it's because I've been defying him lately. Be careful. He'll do anything to take away what I care about most."

Naruto leaned over to place kisses in Sasuke's thick hair. "Don't worry. I won't let him take me away. My heart belongs to you and you alone."

"Just…be careful. I know what he can do. He's the one who sold me to Orochimaru."

Naruto's breath caught in his throat. He hardly ever heard Sasuke talk about himself or his past, so now that he was opening up like this, Naruto hung on to every word. He didn't want to push Sasuke and didn't know what to say, so he reached up and ran his fingers through his ebony locks in what he hoped was a comforting way.

Sasuke snuggled closer to Naruto. If he kept his eyes closed, he found he could shed his Uchiha manor and really open up to the one who stole his heart. Because it was Naruto, he felt he could tell him anything…even things he found hard admitting to himself.

It was strange, he realized. He acted so out of character around Naruto. It didn't even seem possible that he would ever even _talk _to the lively blonde, and yet…he had fallen so deeply in love that he didn't know how it would ever be possible to fall out.

He snuggled as closely as possible to the warm body beside him. Naruto's rough hand sliding over his skin elicited emotions he had never felt before. Gritting his teeth, he steeled himself against the rocky subject ahead.

"What do you mean Itachi sold you to Orochimaru?" Naruto asked, finally unable to stand the silence anymore.

"I guess I don't mean that too literally," Sasuke answered. "It was about two years ago, when I was fifteen. I had been modeling for a few months at that point, and my face was just getting popular enough that Itachi decided I needed a bodyguard. The moment Orochimaru saw me, he said he would watch over me. And since he owned the Akatsuki bodyguard agency, Itachi just ran with it, even though he saw Orochimaru doing…weird things to me."

"What do you mean 'weird things'?" Naruto asked suspiciously, suddenly feeling a little overprotective of his new boyfriend.

"Well… I don't know. He's always been pretty off. When I first met him, he licked my neck. And when I would tell Itachi about how creepy this guy was, he would just shrug it off. I found out later that Orochimaru had waved the first six months' fees if Itachi wouldn't say anything."

"What the _fuck_?" Naruto snarled. "And Itachi just turned a blind eye? What kind of brother is he?"

Sasuke shrugged. "I think there was something else going on, though. Exactly seven months after Itachi had contracted Akatsuki, other bodyguards started watching me. I was appearing in more mainstream magazines, so I thought it had something to do with that. But Orochimaru got a little aggressive. I don't think Itachi really told him that he was hiring other bodyguards."

Sasuke stopped abruptly, his throat seizing up. He was embarrassed by the next chapter of his story and didn't want Naruto leaving him after finding out Sasuke's darkest secret.

Naruto turned his brilliant blue eyes toward Sasuke's form, just barely visible in the dark. "How…aggressive?"

Sasuke turned onto his stomach and buried his face in his pillow, making it difficult for Naruto to hear his muffled voice. "He broke my arm once. After he would take me home, he would try to…you know…do things sexually with me…but I would always struggle and get away. The night he broke my arm, though…I guess he was just really fed up with me. He just held on and held on until I had tired myself out struggling, and then he…he entered me."

Naruto froze, unable to fathom how anyone could violate his precious Sasuke. A single tear dripped down his cheek and onto the pillow next to Sasuke's cheek.

Sasuke continued, a little stronger, "I blacked out after a while, and when I came to, I was in the hospital, and Kisame was standing worriedly over me. And since that night, Orochimaru wasn't allowed to watch me…until the other night, of course."

Naruto was sobbing by this point. "Oh my God, Sasuke, if I had known, I would have begged Kisame to think of something else—"

Sasuke turned his face toward Naruto's. "It's okay, Naruto. Nothing happened the other night. I knew nothing would happen with you and Kisame there, but I still…panicked."

Strong, tan arms wrapped tightly around Sasuke. "I won't ever ever ever ever EVER let anyone hurt you, okay?"

"…I know. Thank you, Naruto. …I love you."

Naruto let go, and tried to smile. "I love you more."

-

When Sasuke awoke the next morning, Naruto was already gone and at work. There was a note on his bathroom counter which read, "Sorry, my shift started at eight this morning, but I get off at six. Let's have dinner together tonight! I love you!" There was a picture at the bottom that Sasuke guessed was supposed to be the two of them, but Naruto had somehow managed to make them look like five-year-old girls. Chuckling, Sasuke put the note in his room before taking his shower.

After getting dressed and while eating a bowl of cereal in front of the television, Sasuke tensed when Itachi sat down beside him on the couch. At first, Itachi remained silent, which made Sasuke even more nervous.

"I saw the note on the bathroom counter," Itachi finally said, sounding as casual as an Uchiha could sound.

"What were you doing in my bathroom?" Sasuke tried to snarl around a mouthful of Wheat-Ohs.

Itachi rolled his eyes. "I do everything in my power to make my little brother happy, yet he's still upset with me. What have I done to deserve this?"

As his older brother's glare could cut through glass, Sasuke bit his tongue to restrain himself from answering Itachi's rhetorical question.

Itachi picked up the remote and flipped through the channels until he reached the nature channel. A shark swam across the screen; Sasuke jumped when Itachi gave a startled cry and turned off the television.

Trying to regain his composure quickly, Itachi said, "I made reservations at Kyuubi for seven thirty for the three of us."

"Why?"

Itachi stood up and took Sasuke's empty cereal bowl into the kitchen. As he walked, he answered, "Be_cause_, little brother, I thought it would be nice for the three of us to spend more time together. My little Sasuke has a boyfriend, yet I hardly know anything about him."

"You never cared about meeting any of my other boyfriends," Sasuke retorted, glaring daggers at Itachi's back.

When Itachi turned around, an icy chill raced up Sasuke's spine, and try as he might, he couldn't resist a shudder. He smirked, his blood red lips peeling back to reveal shiny white teeth. "Your other boyfriends weren't as…interesting."

-

Yeesh, have you noticed that I make them eat at least once in every chapter? I really shouldn't write when I'm hungry…

I debated for quite some time about whether or not to include the dinner scene in this fic…and I finally decided against it. It's not really necessary, and I'm really eager to get to the next bits of plot that are a lot more…interesting. And by "interesting," I mean sex. :)


	14. Sleeping Pills and Falcons

Wooo! Look at me, updating twice in less than three weeks! :D In all honesty, I shouldn't have had time to update. I have finals coming up, so I should be studying my butt off. But what better way to procrastinate than to write? Especially when there's going to be some delicious lemony goodness coming up in the next few chapters. ;D

Thanks a bajillion to my reviewers: hisoka kurosaki, Morlana (To answer your question, Gaara's father is both a drunk and a doctor. There will be more about Gaara's family in later chapters, so stay tuned! ;D), cadywise, Nekosblackrose, natsukileeRKOlover, KL Lover, Alicefreak (Why is it that I always update at crazy hours? I hope you don't wake up your neighbors again with news of my update. :O), sessholove4lyf, and Sasodei90!!! Thanks so much for all your love! mmmmmmmmuah!!

_Chapter 14: Sleeping Pills and Falcons_

Naruto awoke with a start, and, panicked in the darkness of the room, was for a moment unable to figure out where he was. He felt Sasuke shift beside him, and he was calmed. With Sasuke by his side, it no longer mattered where he was so long as he could bring his ebony and ivory god with him.

The blond placed light kisses on Sasuke's shoulder blades. It took several moments for him to remember what they were doing in bed together; usually they wouldn't sleep over when Naruto had to open the bookstore the next morning. Upon remembering, the taller boy wrapped his arms around his love and tucked his chin over the other's shoulder.

Sasuke would be leaving to film for _The Seven Suns _for two weeks.

Snuggling even closer to the brunette, and at the same time trying not to disturb him, Naruto felt a bitter pain tug at his heart. He had _no idea _how he was going to last those two weeks without his beloved Sasuke. Hell—he could barely last two _minutes _without him!

Glancing at his clock, Naruto groaned when the lime numbers stared back at him, announcing the ungodly hour. He switched off the alarm a mere minute before its unholy screeching would have torn through the early morning air. Slowly, he rolled over and placed his feet on the ground before walking over to his calendar and flipping it to June. A large, red frowny face graced the first day of the month, forlornly announcing Sasuke's departure. Contrastingly, an enormous orange smiley face was on the fifteenth day, proclaiming his love's return.

Sasuke sat up in the bed when he heard Naruto return from the bathroom. He rubbed his eyes sleepily as the blond dressed himself in Sasuke's clothes, too lazy to return to his own apartment to get ready. Yawning, he swung his legs over the side of the bed before tiptoeing over to Naruto and throwing his arms around his waist from behind.

"I'm going to miss you," Sasuke mumbled into Naruto's back.

"It's just fourteen days," Naruto answered, more as a comfort to himself rather than Sasuke. "Only 336 hours… Barely 20,160 minutes… A mere 1,209,600 seconds—"

"Naruto…" In the early morning, Sasuke's voice sounded sharp and commanding, yet Naruto could hear the joking whine underneath. "You're making it worse…"

The blond turned around in Sasuke's arms. He tried to flash one of his trademark grins, yet for some reason his muscles couldn't remember how to move.

After a few moments of silence, Sasuke's mouth suddenly upturned into a smirk. "You know what I'm going to miss the most…Naruto-kun?"

"No. Wha—aaahhh…"

Sasuke had already slipped down to his knees, dragging Naruto's pants and boxers down with him. In an instant, his mouth had completely engulfed Naruto's quickly hardening cock.

Sasuke's bedroom door flew open. Luckily Sasuke had allowed Naruto to slip from his mouth before both boys jumped. Naruto quickly used his hands to cover himself when he noticed Itachi's form framed in the doorway.

Itachi snorted. "You boys are up early. And Naruto," he added in response to Naruto covering himself, "it's not like I haven't seen it before."

Naruto blushed and suddenly found himself wondering if Itachi meant dicks in general…or the blond's specifically. Avoiding eye contact, he tried his best to use Sasuke as a shield as he quickly pulled up his pants.

"What do you want, Itachi?" Sasuke snarled as he rose to his feet.

"We're leaving in an hour. I was making sure you weren't still asleep." And with that, the door closed.

Sasuke's eyes narrowed, and he remained in a foul mood the rest of the morning.

Naruto kissed Sasuke chastely on the cheek before heading off to work. "Call me when you get to Sunagakure. I want to make sure you get there safely."

-

When Naruto reached Kyuubi Bookstore, his heart was already pining for Sasuke. He honestly had no idea how he would make the next two weeks without him. Since they had first met what seemed like years ago, they hadn't ever been apart more than five days.

Gaara poked Naruto in the side. "Hey… You're spacing."

Naruto blinked rapidly and shook his head. "Sorry. I just can't get these mental pictures of Sasuke out of my mind. I'm going to miss him so much…"

Gaara handed Naruto a rag. "It's just two weeks, as you've said a hundred times already. Now mop up the drool off the floor."

Naruto laughed. "I didn't drool—!" He looked down at a small puddle on the floor. "Oh. Well, that's gross."

Five days later, Naruto couldn't sleep. He tried everything from counting sheep to reading a book to sleeping pills, but nothing could put his mind at rest.

"Just nine more days… That's all… That's all… Just nine days… That's—"

Naruto stood up on his bed and jumped around a couple of times, thoroughly messing up his covers. "I CAN'T TAKE THIS ANYMORE!" he shouted.

Several loud thumps came from above as his neighbors banged on the floor with a broom. "Nauto!" he heard his neighbor shout. "These walls are soundproof. I shouldn't be able to hear you!!!"

"Gomen!!!" he shouted back. He huffed and sat back down on his bed. As soon as he was down, however, he was back up again with a plan. "Ne, ne! I'll go talk to Tsunade-obaa-san! She'll know what to do!!!"

Naruto forwent the elevator and took the stairs two at a time until he reached the top floor where Tsunade lived. It took several moments for his brain to catch up to his exhaustion at having raced up several flights of stairs in a manner of seconds, so he was bent over panting when someone completely unexpected opened the door.

"Tsunade-obaa-san," he puffed to the hardwood floor. "I need"—pant, pant—"advice…" His eyes slowly drifted toward a pair of brown leather loafers…then up a pair of hairy legs…to the hem of a very short bathrobe…hung open to reveal a very manly physique. When Naruto's eyes reached the man's face, his jaw nearly hit the floor. "J—Jiraya????? Wh—What are you doing here?!?!?!"

Jiraya scratched his stomach right above where the sash of robe held the frighteningly short cloth closed. "Just staying with Tsunade for the time being while my apartment's renovated." Jiraya leaned closer until his face was level with Naruto's. "Why? You got a problem with it?"

"Jiraya!" Naruto heard Tsunade snap from further in your apartment. "Either get a longer robe or stand up straight! I can see your balls, and trust me—I really wish I could erase that image from my mind!"

Jiraya turned around and winked. "Don't lie, Tsunade. You know you like it."

Naruto stepped aside quickly as the force of Tsunade's punch sent Jiraya crashing into the wall on the other side of the hallway.

"What are you doing here, Naruto?" Tsunade demanded as she tucked a stray lock of hair behind her ear.

"I just needed someone to talk to," Naruto answered. He sidestepped the blonde and plopped down in her sofa with a huge sigh.

Tsunade closed the front door and locked it. "Naruto, by the by, you might not want to sit in that chair. Jiraya's been there."

Naruto leapt nearly three feet in the air and onto the table. "Grossgrossgrossgrossgrossgross!!!"

"I've been sitting on magazines," Tsunade remarked trying to hold back her smirk. "Are you thirsty? I was going to make some tea."

There was a soft knock on the front door. "Ts—Tsunade…? Can…Can you open the door? I think I got rug burn on my—"

"Jiraya!" Tsunade snapped, the muscle in her temple twitching. "If I let you back in, would you _promise _to put some pants on?"

"No."

"Theeeeen you're not coming back in. Naruto, I'll go get you that tea."

Naruto took the newspaper Tsunade handed him as she passed him to go into the kitchen. He warily placed the paper on the sofa before sitting down. He stared at the door wondering if he should let Jiraya in anyway before he somehow managed to break into others' rooms and rape all the women.

"Don't even think about it, Naruto!" Tsunade called from the kitchen.

Naruto jumped. "Th—Think about what, Tsunade-obaa-chan?"

Tsunade came back into the living room with two steaming cups of tea and several garbage bags. She set the cups down on the coffee table before tearing the garbage bags apart and placing them over her furniture. "Now, tell me, Naruto… What are you doing in my room at two o'clock in the morning? Aren't there other things you could be doing? Like downloading porn or something?"

"Usually that's what I would do at two o'clock in the morning when I can't sleep…" Naruto picked up his cup of tea and took a sip. "But, Tsunade-obaa-chan… Ano…"

"Is this about Sasuke?"

Naruto nodded. "I miss him like crazy, and he's only been gone for five days. I don't know how I'm going to last two whole fucking weeks!"

Tsunade sighed. "Listen, Naruto, you're like a son to me, but if you come knocking on my door at two o'clock in the morning every night for the next week and a half, I might end up killing you. And I really don't want to clean that kind of mess out of my carpet."

"Wow, thanks a lot, Tsunade."

"Let me finish!" She held her finger to her lips while Naruto glared at her. "There's no way to make time speed up, but you'll make yourself go even more crazy if you stay up way too late into the night and lose sleep. During the day, try to keep yourself as busy as possible so you can keep your mind off him. Try running several miles in the evening so by the time it's bedtime, you'll be so exhausted you'll fall asleep."

Naruto groaned. "For another week and a half? Ugh…"

Tsunade felt the muscle in her temple pulse, yet she was able to manage to keep herself from pummeling the blond. "Well, if running doesn't work, try other things to help you fall asleep. I've heard drinking milk or lemon tea helps. Don't you have a friend who's an insomniac? Why don't you ask him how he gets to sleep each night?"

"That won't work. He still only gets about three or four hours of sleep each night."

"Well, try asking him anyway. It wouldn't hurt, ne?" She drained her tea and stood up. "But, Naruto… I'm not as young as I used to be—don't you dare say anything, you smart-ass!—and it's late. I'm tired, and I need my beauty sleep—you wipe that grin from your face or I'll slap it away." She inhaled sharply, trying to remember all the steps of her anger management program before continuing. "The point is, I'm waking up in less than five hours, so I need to get back to bed. Go talk to your friend tomorrow, and if you still have trouble sleeping in a few days, you're welcome to come back and talk to me."

"Thanks so much, Tsunade-obaa-chan. Yeah, I'll go talk to him tomorrow at work."

-

The next morning, Naruto groaned when his alarm went off at the ungodly hour of seven. He fought off the series of yawns, having finally drifted off around five. After several minutes of unsuccessfully trying to climb out of bed, he dialed Iruka's number.

"Moshi moshi," Iruka yawned as he answered his phone.

"Iruka-san, I don't think I can come in to work today…"

"That's all right, Naruto. I'll take your shift. Will you still be able to come in tomorrow?"

Naruto nodded before remembering that Iruka couldn't see him. "Yeah, I'll come in tomorrow even if it kills me. I've just been having trouble sleeping, and I finally drifted off not too long ago. All right, I'm going back to bed. Night." He flipped his phone shut and passed out.

Far away in Otogakure, Sasuke was having similar thoughts about just rolling over and falling back asleep. Like Naruto, he hadn't been able to sleep much, but unlike Naruto, he couldn't call anyone to fill in for him for the day.

Sasuke rolled out of the bed and glanced at his reflection in the bathroom mirror. He placed his fingers against the dark circles under his eyes and wondered if even the most talented makeup artists would be able to cover them up. He made a mental note to send someone out to get sleeping pills but wondered how long it would take before that thought was driven from his mind.

There was a knock on his door. Zetsu called out, "Hurry up or you're going to be late."

Sasuke glowered at the door, still not all the way awake and not quite up for greeting the morning with a smile. He grabbed the clothes from the floor that he had worn the day before and threw them on halfheartedly knowing they'd be off again in less than an hour when he went into wardrobe. He grabbed his room key and cell phone before joining Zetsu in the hallway.

Usually if Sasuke walked around in a busy city, he made sure to have sunglasses or a hat to keep his fanmob from mauling him on the sidewalk. However, in Otogakure, the number of famous people outnumbered the citizens. There was always at least a dozen movies being filmed year-round in Otogakure, and most stars had taken up permanent residency in the five star hotels scattered throughout the city.

Sasuke passed many faces he recognized from television and magazines, and a few even waved. He nodded back to a few but for the most part ignored everyone who passed. The streets were busy even now when the sun had barely made it up past the horizon.

When Sasuke entered the studio, the wardrobe artist was on him almost immediately. "Here, put this on. You're late! The director's been looking all over for you!"

Sasuke raised an eyebrow as he took off his shirt. "He couldn't have called?"

The make-up artist came at him with pencils and brushes. "Less talk, more holding still."

As Sasuke began to grow bored and annoyed with the hustle and bustle that routinely accompanied his mornings, he found himself imagining what Naruto would think of the studio. He remembered how the blond's eyes were impossibly large when he was at the photo shoot, and while that had been a large magazine, Sasuke had been at bigger studios and had been unimpressed.

Within the hour, Sasuke had been pushed out onto the set. They were filming the more boring scenes this morning, and Sasuke didn't even have a speaking part. First, they had Sasuke stand on a bridge in front of a green screen. The water and background would be added in later, which added to how bored Sasuke felt just standing around. He tried to keep the boredom from his eyes as he stared off into nothingness, but apparently he didn't try hard enough.

"Cut, cut…! CUT!" The director was on him in an instant. "Sasuke, I know you're tired. We're all tired. But…you've been standing on this bridge for almost half an hour, and you've yet to get the right look."

The director prattled on and on for a few more minutes before he was finally satisfied with Sasuke's look. He went back to his chair, shouted a few more directions, and once he was content, they moved on to the next scene.

For the next scene, Sasuke sat inside a restaurant. He was a background character for this scene, and he was once again bored eating his imaginary food. In the foreground, the heroine was having lunch with the antagonist. They were eating real food, which only reminded Sasuke how damn hungry he was. Sasuke was supposed to be scowling at the two lunch-eaters, driven into jealousy as the two flirted away. Sasuke merely scowled as his stomach growled away, and apparently the director was satisfied with this hungry scowl as opposed to the jealous scowl.

When the director called cut and announced that he was going on a lunch break, Sasuke didn't even bother leaving the studio for lunch. He talked to the set chef and happily ate the antagonist's leftovers.

-

Back in Konoha, Naruto had finally pulled himself out of bed and was trudging into the kitchen to make some coffee when he heard a knock on his front door. He opened it slowly, not knowing who could be on the other side.

Gaara held up two cups of coffee and a box of doughnuts before inviting himself in. "Iruka said you're having trouble sleeping."

Naruto nodded. "Yeah. I've grown used to sleeping next to Sasuke. I don't know how to sleep by myself anymore. And…I miss him…"

Gaara watched as Naruto scarfed down several jelly doughnuts in a row. "Don't you call him?"

Naruto nodded, unable to speak around the pastry. He chewed as fast as he could before swallowing and taking a gulp of coffee. "I call him at every possible moment…but it's not enough. I miss the feel of his skin against mine, the softness of his hair…his scent…"

"Miss the sex?"

Naruto had just taken another sip of coffee and promptly began choking after Gaara's comment. Once he was able to breathe again, he shook his head before saying, "Ah, no, Sasuke and I haven't gone any further than oral."

Gaara shrugged. "Whatever, it's still sex. And you're not getting any. Have you two tried phone sex yet?"

Naruto stared at Gaara. "You know, a relationship isn't _just _sex, Gaara! I don't think phone sex will—"

"Of course a relationship isn't just sex," scoffed Gaara. "If it were, I'd let the guys I've banged actually stick around for more than just the night. The point is, there's the emotional side of the relationship. While Sasuke's gone, you're getting that fulfilled by talking to him on the phone. Texting him, whatever. Then there's the physical side of a relationship. Ever notice how marriages usually approach their end when couples stop sleeping with each other? That's because, no matter how we try not to admit it, we need sex."

"But, we haven't even—"

"If not sex," Gaara continued, shoving a doughnut in Naruto's mouth to shut him up, "then a kiss even. A hug. Some sort of physical attention. A blow job works just as effectively."

"You just said oral was sex."

"…I have a feeling you're not following me."

"Yeah, I have no idea what you're talking about."

Gaara tossed a piece of doughnut at Naruto's head. "How can you be so dumb and yet still function?"

"Because I'm awesome. Do I need any other explanation?"

Gaara rolled his eyes. "Whatever, loser. I have to get back to work." He drained the last of his coffee before standing up and walking to the door to let himself out. He paused, his hand hovering over the knob. "Look. If you want, I can come sleep over tonight. Or ask Kiba. Fuck, we'll have a sleepover if we have to."

Naruto laughed, his eyes glinting. "And how am I supposed to sleep with all the noise everyone would be making?"

Gaara shrugged. "Not my problem. But I'm showing up at eight with popcorn and porn. Invite whoever else you want."

Naruto watched the door close behind the redhead, and he continued to stare at the closed door, lost in thought about what Gaara had said. Sora woke up from her nap and began pacing anxiously around the apartment. She paused when she noticed Naruto on the couch and watched him staring off into space. She tensed up a moment before springing forward and landing on Naruto's foot.

"Ahh!" Naruto jumped, startling Sora nearly as much as she had startled him. The kitten leapt back a few feet before pouncing back on his foot. Laughing, Naruto reached down and picked up the little ball of grey fur. "What do you think you're doing, you silly kitty?"

Back at the studio in Otogakure, the director was having his own animal problems. Several birds had managed to fly into the studio and kept darting in front of the cameras during cuts. Sasuke stood back and watched amusedly as the set crew chased after the birds, trying to coax them back outside.

Kakashi sidled up to Sasuke. "So…how have you been?"

Sasuke eyed Kakashi suspiciously. "We're supposed to film your scene next, but no one's seen you since the lunch break. Did you let those birds in?"

The silver-haired man placed a finger against his cloth-covered lips. "You wanna get out of here? It's going to take ages for them to clean up all of the bird shit. Plus, the falcon hasn't even made its way in here yet."

Sasuke saw Zetsu head into the bathroom and nodded. "Yeah. I brought my X-Box. Let's go play some Halo."

"Sweet. I'll order pizza."

Sasuke and Kakashi made it to the hotel, and Sasuke hooked up the X-Box while Kakashi ordered pizza. Sasuke wondered vaguely how Kakashi ate if he never removed his mask but pushed that thought from his mind when he turned the console on.

Kakashi sat on the edge of the bed while Sasuke took the floor. Neither said a word about anything other than Halo until the deliveryman knocked on the door. More silence as they ate and played before Kakashi finally brought up the reason he had coaxed Sasuke into skipping filming.

"I was talking with Iruka this morning over the phone, and he said Naruto had called and said he hadn't been able to sleep the night before and wouldn't be able to come into work. Sasuke, even though you've had some of the most talented make-up artists in Otogakure at your skin, I can still see the dark circles under your eyes."

Sasuke narrowed his eyes, not sure where this was going. "Your point?"

"How are you and Naruto…coping with being apart for so long?"

"Why are you so interested?"

Kakashi shrugged. "My interests are unimportant at this moment. Just know that it's pure altruism."

"Somehow I don't believe that." They were swallowed up by silence for nearly fifteen minutes before Sasuke finally drew in a deep breath. "You're right. I can't sleep. All day I'm reminded of everything Naruto, but I never have time to call. Then, at night, once I hang up the phone and close my eyes to sleep, he's there behind my eyelids. We talk, but…I miss more."

"Have you tried phone sex?"

Sasuke shook his head. "Nah, I don't think Naruto would be up to that. And I don't want to suggest anything like it in case it freaks him out."

"Who would get freaked out by phone sex?"

"Well, you know… When you first start out, it's kind of weird… Plus, you're always anxious someone's going to walk in the room, or if they can hear you next door. And, really, it just makes you want the other person more."

"But it does have its benefits."

Sasuke didn't know if, had he the chance, he would have even responded, but at that moment, there were several loud bangs on his door. The brunette jumped and tensed, praying it wasn't a mob of fangirls.

"Sasuke!" Zetsu called, banging again. "Sasuke! Are you in there?"

Kakashi stood up fluidly and was at the door in about five strides. He glanced momentarily through the peephole before opening the door. "Sorry, Zetsu. I stole Sasuke for a little while, and it slipped our minds to contact you."

The oddly shaped collar on Zetsu's jacket as well as where he stood in the doorway cast a shadow on exactly half his face, making it look like the left side was black and the right half white. He ignored Kakashi and turned his yellow eyes on Sasuke. "I've been looking all over for you. No one at the studio had heard a word from you."

"Sorry, Zetsu," Sasuke answered coldly. "Next time I'll leave a note."

"Whatever. Let's just get you back to the set. I'm not getting paid to babysit."

-

:O What's going to happen next?!?! With all these allusions toward phone sex, you didn't think I could pass up a beautiful chance like that, did you? ;) Guess what's gonna happen in the next chapterrrr!!! It'll be out as soon as I can find time to write it. :O

Remember to tell me how much you love me in a review!! ;D


	15. Just a Phone Call Away

Sorry about the late-ness of my update. :( I thought I would have sooooo much time this summer, but I've been getting my butt kicked. I've been doing a lot with my book _Ronny Cohen_. I called the publishing agency the other day, and I've been getting it set up so I can get it published. And then I'm going on a cruise with my boyfriend in July…so, basically, I'm down a lot of monies, and I've been busy trying to get out of the negative end of the cash pool. But—but—but…when _Ronny Cohen_ comes out (ha! no pun intended!), you guys should buy it and support a broke author. :) Or…don't…and just review this fic, and I'll be just as happy. :)

Lots and lots of thanks to those who reviewed between last chapter and this chapter (as well as all previous reviewers)! Thanks to hisoka kurosaki (Happy early birthday!), SamuraiSaaya, Midnight Essence, ShadowOfARealm, XxYaoiLoverForeverxX (No, I didn't plagiarize, from any of my stories or otherwise. Maybe my writing style is just similar to other things I've written?), GothicInuAngel01, KL Lover, natsukileeRKOlover (I keep forgetting about Gaara's beautiful, beautiful piercing until I'm reminded by a note I wrote to myself (I'm very forgetful so I have lots and lots of notes about where I'm going with this story and what I've written, haha) or when I read your review…and then I just have this moment where I'm like, "Thank God I wrote that in…"), Alicefreak, UchihaArisa, blah, gaaranojutsu02, SasuNaru246, and the unknow mmmmmmmwhahahaha!!

Thanks for reading! I love you so much! And…as all of you wished…the phone sex has been brought!

UPDATE: Wow, I'm REALLY sorry the punctuation didn't show up. I have this on two sites, and the punctuation showed up on the other site… I have NO IDEA what happened. :( I'm working on fixing it.

_Chapter 15: Just a Phone Call Away_

Sasuke would be coming home in less than a week, but Naruto still wasn't getting much sleep. He realized he needed to figure out a system. Sasuke was only gone for two weeks this time as they filmed relatively minor scenes. What would happen when they started cranking out the major scenes? Sasuke could be gone for months at a time! …Or would he? Naruto, in all honesty, didn't know a thing about the filming business. And what about Sasuke's modeling? Would he still be doing both?

Sasuke didn't like talking about his career, so Naruto had never pushed him into talking about it. However, now that his curiosity had been piqued, he needed some answers.

Naruto was working by himself at the bookstore. He glanced around, but the only customers were in the manga section reading and weren't paying attention to him. He opened Google Chrome on the computer and went to Wikipedia. He typed in "acting" and was surprised to find a relatively short article. He clicked "actor." Bored with all the words, he scrolled down to the "See also" section. After several minutes of more clicking and less reading, he realized he had somehow gotten from "acting" all the way to "Pale Kangaroo Mouse," which was apparently a species of rodent in the Heteromyidae family.

The manga reader stood up and walked over to the register with a pile of books. Naruto minimized Wikipedia and checked her out. When she left, Naruto maximized the page and, wondering why he had never thought of this before, typed "Uchiha Sasuke" into the browser. His jaw dropped at the longevity of the article, and set about reading. The article detailed Sasuke's modeling career as well as his sudden popularity in the movie world.

"EEEEEEEEHHHHHHHHHH????????????"

Several people in the bookstore jumped, including Naruto. The blond blushed, scratching the back of his head embarrassedly. "Gomen, gomen, gomen!" When their eyes turned away, Naruto stared at the screen again, wondering if he had misread something. When the words remained the same, he nervously clicked the hyperlink of his name.

Most of the article detailed the interview he had had at Sakura TV what seemed like years ago, but there was a section depicting the false accusations of the article in Hiroto's Progress. None of that seemed to matter, however. His eyes were locked on the pictures they chose for the article. A few of them had never been released to the public, making him hope someone from the magazine company had written his article and that he didn't suddenly have a stalker fanbase.

He scrolled down to the bottom of the page, and his heart stopped at the last sentence: "Uzumaki Naruto is Uchiha Sasuke's boyfriend." Naruto jumped up from his chair and started dancing around the bookstore, grabbing innocent people as he passed and spinning with them. After several minutes, he calmed down and made his way back to his place behind the register. However, he saw the sentence again, and the whole process started over.

Kimimaro walked into the shop about fifteen minutes later and watched bemusedly as Naruto tried to get someone to teach him how to waltz. Wondering why Iruka ever scheduled Naruto to work alone in the shop, he made his way to the back room to drop off his coat and make a cup of coffee. He hadn't slept well the night before. Several bone spurs had appeared along his collarbone and hurt so much he couldn't get to sleep.

The white-haired Kimimaro flipped open his cell phone and pulled up his calendar. It had been awhile since he had last been to the doctor, but he wouldn't be able to go again at least until another paycheck.

The door to the back room opened, and Kimimaro jumped. He flipped his phone closed in his surprise, but the plastic hit his fingertip where apparently another bone spur was growing. He gasped in pain as the spur broke off, slid past the new cut on his finger, and out onto the floor.

"Neat trick," drawled Gaara from the doorway. "Let's get you to the hospital. My treat."

"I—I don't have the money," Kimimaro gasped, clutching his finger to his chest.

Gaara shrugged. "If we go through the E.R., we don't have to pay."

"…I don't think it works like that…"

Naruto watched the pair leaving the shop. "Hey! Kimimaro! When did you come in? I didn't even see you…"

"Just—got…here," he managed past the pain.

"I'm taking him to the hospital, baka," Gaara called over his shoulder. "If you need extra help, call Iruka to come in because we'll both be out of commission."

"Haaaaaaaaiiiiiiii!!!!!!!" Naruto called back. "And thanks again, Gaara, for bringing back my shirt!" It was growing closer to the usual afternoon traffic hour, and since he hadn't seen Iruka in a while, he decided to give the shop owner slash teacher a call.

Once the pair had arrived at the hospital, Gaara led Kimimaro through the main entrance as opposed to the emergency room. He made Kimimaro sit in the waiting room while he talked to the nurses behind the front desk. Barely a minute later, Gaara was leading Kimimaro down the hallway and into a side room.

Once the door had closed behind them, Kimimaro grabbed Gaara's arm. "I told you, I don't have the money to pay for this right now! And if I go to the same hospital twice in one month with the same condition…Gaara, they'll want to study me! I know you don't understand, but, please…let's just…go."

Gaara shook his head. "Relax. I understand. You have no idea how much shit and testing I was put through with my chronic, acute insomnia. I took all of that into consideration when I picked out this place. You will never have to pay, and there will never be a record of your existence in this place."

"But how can that be—"

The door to the room opened, and a man with nearly the same shade of hair as Gaara entered the relatively small area. Gaara scowled at the man, and refused to look at or speak to him while he was in the room. The doctor, for the most part, ignored Gaara as well, sticking to questioning Kimimaro about his condition and inspecting where the bone spurs were poking through the skin.

"Wait here. I'll prep a room for surgery," the doctor mumbled before leaving the room.

"Surgery!" Kimimaro shouted, jumping up in surprise. "Gaara, I can't get surgery! I definitely don't have the money!"

Gaara waved his hand. "Relax. The doctor knows what he's doing…for the most part. He's my father." Gaara's mouth wrinkled at the word. "At least in the biological sense," he corrected. "I haven't lived with him since my older brother Kankuro pulled together enough money to get us out of that hell hole and into an apartment."

By the time Naruto went home, Kimimaro had already been released from the hospital. After checking to make sure Sora had food and water and that her litter box was clean, the blond collapsed in his bed, having been at work from open until seven. Wondering vaguely if Kimimaro was all right and what had happened in that short time he was in the back room with Gaara, he closed his eyes and was immediately asleep.

Naruto woke up around nine-thirty that evening absolutely starving. He had been dreaming, but he couldn't remember what it was about. Realizing he hadn't eaten since lunch time, he forgave his stomach for its ridiculously loud growling and pulled some leftovers from his fridge. After heating some spaghetti in the microwave, he took his plate in front of the television. He finished his meal, placed his dishes in the sink, brushed his teeth, and once more collapsed into his bed, the television still on in the other room.

He awoke the next morning around nine to Sora leaping onto his bed and laying on his face. He lifted the kitting up. "Sora…!" he groaned, rubbing sleep from his eyes. "I know I've been busy with work and haven't seen you lately…but you don't have to sleep on my face."

He checked his calendar to see what day it was and was relieved he wasn't scheduled to work. He supposed it would be Gaara and Iruka in the shop today—perhaps even the whole day.

"Iruka really needs to hire some more workers," Naruto told Sora before putting her back down on the floor. "But now I have the whole day to spend with you, Soraaaa!"

The grey kitten stared at him for a moment before turning around and walking out of the room.

"Well, damn, Gina," Naruto pouted. "Way to treat me like I'm worth nothin'."

He followed Sora out into the living room, intending to make himself some breakfast. He noticed that his television was off and that the remote was on the coffee table. "I—I don't remember turning that off last night," he mumbled, his face blanching. "S—Sora… Please tell me you know how to turn off a television…"

Sora meowed in response.

Naruto heard something clink in the kitchen. He swallowed before tiptoeing into the adjacent room. Peeking around the corner, he sighed in relief when he noticed a familiar face. "Good God, Haku. You scared the bejeezus outta me. Next time, leave a note or something."

Haku turned to face Naruto. He was wearing a pink apron and holding a spatula in one hand and a bottle of syrup in the other. "I made you breakfast, Naru-kun!"

"Thanks, Haku."

Whenever Haku showed up by himself at Naruto's apartment and made breakfast, it was usually a pretty big clue that something was wrong. The first time he showed up was when Haku's birth parents arrived out of nowhere to take him away from his adopted parents. Haku ended up staying nearly four days…until the cops finally tracked him down and threatened to arrest Naruto if Haku didn't come quietly. Before Naruto had a place to himself and Haku was having a problem, he would follow Naruto around at school (which was usually problematic, seeing as how Haku was a grade older than the blond.)

Naruto began eating the chocolate chip pancakes Haku set out for him. Not being the best cook in the world, pancakes were an advanced culinary task for Haku. Haku nervously stirred his pancakes around in the syrup, so lost in thought that he jumped every time Sora brushed against his leg. When Naruto finished his stack of pancakes, he took his and Haku's plates to the sink before sitting back down and waiting for Haku to start talking.

After nearly forty minutes of silence, Haku finally spoke. "Zabuza wants me to move in with him."

"Isn't that a good thing?"

"Yes. No. I don't know…" Haku shook his head so that the hair he hadn't pulled back brushed across his face. "I love Zabuza, and I really do want to live with him… It's just…"

After another ten minutes of silence, Naruto decided Haku needed a prompt. "Is it your parents?"

Haku shook his head again. "No, this isn't even about my parents. But…I'm going to college next semester, on a scholarship, so it's not even about paying for college. But…Zabuza… He's been working for so long. He was working part-time all through high school, and he was working full-time right after graduation. And when I met him…he kept working. And I was working. And we have all this money…"

After more silence, Naruto stood up and made some hot green tea for the both of them. Haku slid his cup back and forth between his hands, only picking it up sporadically to take small sips.

"Naruto… I'm worried about Zabuza. I've told him he should go back to working part-time so he could go to college—community college at the least! But he always says that he's never had any desire to go to college. He says that the job he has now pays him well enough. But…Naruto… He works so late…"

It was then that Naruto realized he didn't actually know _where _Zabuza worked. He couldn't imagine him as a waiter or anything in customer service… "Haku… What is it that Zabuza _does _exactly?"

Haku picked up his tea and emptied the whole cup in one loud gulp. "He makes deliveries." Well, that didn't sound too bad. "To yakuza members."

Oh. Yeah, that would fall under the category of "bad."

"Isn't that…really dangerous?"

Haku turned to him, his eyes on the verge of overflowing with tears. But he held them back. As he always did. "Naruto, I'm so scared! Every time he leaves, I'm always sure he'll never come home again! He says it's not dangerous at all, and he says that even if something does happen, he can take care of himself!"

"Have you told him how worried he makes you?"

"Time and time again!" Haku sounded like he was pleading, but Naruto couldn't figure out with whom. "But, Naruto—! Even if he did want to quit, he can't! He can't back out now, not when he's in this far! He says his whole family is really high up, but he can't tell me any more. He says he won't tell me, because if I ever want to leave, he doesn't want me to be in any sort of danger. But, God—Naruto!"

Naruto waited a few seconds to see if Haku was finished, and Haku opened his mouth to say more.

"Naruto… He wants to move in with me. But if he's involved with yakuza…" His voice trailed off, and he froze, staring off into space. A smile passed across his mouth but reached no other part of his face, his eyes remaining icy and emotionless. "But… I love him, Naruto. You can understand that, right? You love Sasuke, right? And…I would follow Zabuza to the depths of Hell and back. Where he goes, I go."

Naruto watched sadly and Haku stood up and left the apartment. He knew he would be safe, especially if he were with Zabuza, but still… Knowing that someone would be safe and waiting for them to return were two different things.

-

Sasuke returned to the hotel that night completely exhausted. Not only had he been _swamped _that day with back-to-back filming, but most of the scenes involved him running. The moment the door had closed behind him, he peeled off his clothes and hopped into the shower. Once he had finished, he merely towel dried his hair and wrapped another towel around his waist. He flopped on his bed and jumped when he heard his cell phone ring.

"Moshi moshi…"

"SASUKE!"

Sasuke held the phone away from his ear until it stopped ringing. "What do you want, dobe?" His words were mocking, but he couldn't keep the smile from his voice or face.

"Sasuke! I love you!"

Sasuke laughed. How could Naruto be so sporadic and jovial? It would make any normal person exhausted. "I love you, too, Naruto. Is that all you called to say?"

"That, and…I miss youuuuu……………"

"I miss you, too."

Naruto jumped up and down around his apartment. Ever since Haku had left that morning, he had felt antsy. He went out and went shopping for a good part of the day, spending most of his time in the shop where Temari worked part-time. By the time he had gotten him, he _really _needed to hear Sasuke's voice.

"Ne! Ne! Sasuke, how was your day?"

"It was good, I guess. We got a lot of filming done."

"That's good. …………………I miss youuuuu………"

Sasuke shook his head, bemused. He would be back in Konoha very soon, but Naruto was acting like they would be apart for another year. Then again, he felt the same way Naruto did; he was very anxious to get back to his blond Adonis.

"So what are you up to?" Naruto asked. "How was filming?"

Sasuke exhaled deeply. "Same as always, I guess. Lots of boring filming. I ran a lot, but it didn't make any sense because most of the background will be CGI'd in later. I just felt like an idiot pretending to jump out of the way of nothing. And today was Kakashi's day off, too, so I didn't even really have anyone to talk to. What did you do today?"

Naruto had been wandering around his apartment but finally stopped in his bedroom. Sora was trying to sleep in her bed in the living room and was giving him a glare every time he paced past her. He flopped down on his bed and yawned. "I had today off. Haku came by this morning, and we had breakfast. He had Zabuza were going through a rough patch, but I think he figured it out. I'm really worried about him, though."

"But Zabuza's there to watch out for him, right?"

"Yeah… If it were anyone else, I think I would have held him hostage in my apartment. But Zabuza…Zabuza would die for Haku without a second thought."

Sasuke realized he felt the exact same way about Naruto. Without a moment's hesitation, he would sacrifice his own life for the energetic blond.

"I saw Temari today, too," Naruto continued after a brief pause. "She asked how you were doing and invited us over to her apartment for dinner when you get back. She wants to know what your favorite foods are."

"Oh. Well…I really like Greek food, I guess. But I'm not adverse to seafood or traditional Japanese food."

"Greek food, huh? I've never heard that as anyone's preference. But, Temari's an excellent cook. I'm sure she can handle it. I'll pass along the memo."

There was an awkward moment of silence between the two of them. Sasuke wasn't used to having long conversations, and Naruto couldn't think of anything else to say besides "I love you" and "I miss you." Naruto's thoughts drifted to what Gaara had mentioned a few days before. He took a deep breath and decided to do something he wouldn't have ever imagined doing before.

"Sasuke…"

Sasuke jumped a little at the sudden change in Naruto's tone of voice. He felt his heart beat a little faster, and he couldn't help but think of Kakashi's words. But—how coincidental would it be for Naruto to be doing exactly what Kakashi had mentioned…?

"Sasuke… I _really _miss you… I miss the softness of your hair. I miss the deep color of your eyes. I miss the feel of your skin against mine." Naruto swallowed, not really sure how he was supposed to continue this. He decided just to do what felt natural and that he would stop if it felt too weird or if Sasuke said something. "I miss sliding my hand down your chest, and how your muscles stiffen as I brush over where you're ticklish. I miss the feel of your jeans…and slowly undoing the buttons and pulling down the zipper…"

Sasuke looked down at himself and smirked. "Sorry, dobe. I'm not wearing jeans right now. I'm just in a towel." Having an inclination where Naruto was going with this and wondering if the blond had any experience in this field, he decided to help him out a little. "What would you do if I were just in a towel, then?"

Naruto felt his breath catch in the back of his throat as he imagined Sasuke standing before him, a towel wrapped haphazardly around his hips. His eyes wracked imagined-Sasuke's body and followed the thin line of black hair from the belly button down to the beginning of the towel. "I—I would"—he cleared his throat and tried again to remove the stutter—"I would run my hands over your naked torso before resting them on the sides of your hips and kissing you."

Sasuke smirked as Little Sasuke began waking up. "Would you, hmm? Well, that's not fair, me being in a towel. What are you wearing?"

Naruto looked down. "A pair of jeans."

"Anything else?"

Naruto blushed. When he had gotten back from his shopping excursion, he had taken a quick shower and had been a little lazy with what he put back on. "Ah… No. Just—just jeans."

"…No underwear? My, what a naughty little Naru-kun you are."

Naruto was blushing furiously, not sure what to say or where to continue. Luckily, Sasuke picked back up.

"In that case… I'd move from kissing your lips to kissing your neck. As you make those cute noises you always make when I kiss your neck, I'd move my left hand up your body and begin playing with your nipple. Ano… Can you feel me touching you? Can you feel as my teeth graze your skin and how my fingers pinch lightly?"

Naruto realized he had been running his hand over his body and had been touching himself as he imagined Sasuke to be touching him. "H—Hai…"

Sasuke smirked. He was interested in how Naruto would take control of the phone sex and decided to give him control back. "I would roll on my back and pull you on top of me. I would return to kissing your lips, slipping my tongue inside your mouth, content just to kiss you. One hand is on the side of your face, and the other is on your side. …Naru-kun, where are your hands?"

"I—I…" He tried to imagine what he would do if real Sasuke were there and suddenly found things to be easier. "I would slide my hand down your torso and pull the towel away from your body. You would lift your hips a little so I could toss it aside. I would then wrap my hand softly around your cock and begin stroking slowly. Up…then down…then back up…and down."

In the hotel room, Sasuke had tossed aside the towel and was using his hand to mimic Naruto's words. He felt a small gasp escape as he imagined his own hand to be Naruto's.

"I would slide my hand back a little and massage your balls before going back to your cock. It'd be leaking precum, and I'd use it to lubricate my motions. I'd then kiss down your body until my mouth was hovering over your cock. I'd lick the tip before sliding down and taking all of you in my mouth. I'd let my tongue lick your cock as my lips slid up and down."

Sasuke moaned and thrashed about in the bed as his hand began rubbing his cock faster and faster—

"Sasuke?"

Sasuke stopped his hand when he heard Naruto's change of voice. "What is it, Naruto?"

"Sasuke, don't cum yet. I can hear how your moans are getting louder, and that means you're about to cum. I don't want you to yet."

Sasuke was shocked. He had no idea the small noises he was making would change every time he grew closer to ejaculation. He shook his head to get his thoughts back in order. "A—All right… Then, I'd grab you and flip you onto your back before taking off your jeans. Your cock would spring free and I'd immediately take the whole thing in my mouth. You'd try to buck your hips, but I'd hold them down firmly as I bobbed my head up and down." He paused before asking, "Naruto… I know we've never…you know…in real life, but with phone sex…it's kind of different. H—How far do you want to go?"

Naruto's eyes widened. "Um… I—I don't…I don't know…"

Sasuke chewed his bottom lip, wondering if he had been too sudden with the blond. "I—I'm sorry. We'll just—"

Naruto took a deep breath, closed his eyes, and said rather quickly, "I'd flip you back over and kiss you deeply. You'd put your legs on my shoulders, and I'd push into you. I'd have…um…prepared you earlier, so my cock would slide right in." He realized he was blushing, but he didn't think he had ever been this hard in his life.

Sasuke realized his mouth was open in surprise. He guessed Naruto was ready for sex, at least if only via phone. "I'd kiss you back, loving the feeling of you deep inside me." He was met by silence and wondered if Naruto was too embarrassed to continue. "Naruto?"

"…Sasuke?"

"Yeah?"

"Sorry… I just came."

Sasuke smiled. "All right, hold on, let me finish up, too…" He imagined a naked Naruto, slightly redder than normal as he blushed. He imagined Naruto touching himself before the blond's cock jerked and came. He imagined the milky substance spurting out from the small slit at the tip of his head and getting all over the blond's hand. Sasuke barely touched himself before reaching his own orgasm, a large moan escaping his lips as he did so.

"A—Ah…! Naruto…!"

Sasuke stroked himself until he completed his orgasm, the image of Naruto still fresh in his mind. After a few minutes of heavy breathing, he felt ready to speak in coherent sentences. "Naruto?"

He was met by silence.

"…Naruto?"

He heard Naruto breathing and realized it was slower than usual.

Naruto had fallen fast asleep.

Sasuke smiled. After listening to Naruto's breathing for a few more seconds, he hung up his cell phone. He used some tissues to clean himself off before curling under his covers and falling asleep himself.

-

So, I really like trying to keep my readers updated with my personal life. For no real reason except to make myself happy while I pretend that there might be someone somewhere who actually gives a damn. :) (haha, I know everyone here loves me and gives a damn!) Anywho, so, I had never really had a real boyfriend before (and this is counting my three-month one-night-stand. God, that was awful. So glad that's over with.), and then I went off to college. And I met this boy in one of my education classes (I want to be a math teacher, and he wants to be a biology teacher. Isn't that cute?), and I fell IN LOVE with him. Like, completely infatuated. I would make up these little reasons to meet with him outside of class and the like, and I was just so happy to be with him.

(There is a point to this story that's related to _Insomniac's Dream_. Raise your hand if you believe me. XD)

Anywho, so, I met him back in late August, when the fall semester started. And we hung out lots. And I was happy. :) And then we went off on winter break for three weeks, and I missed him. Big sad face. :(

So, long story short, when we got back for the fall semester, he told me that he had liked me (basically) since the first time he saw me, too…and then he asked me out. And I'm pretty much the happiest person who's ever walked this earth. :D

But, yeah, anywho, to my point and correlation to this story. So, now it's summer. And he lives in one city in one state…and I live in another city in another state. (Silly me, for going to an out-of-state school. Pout pout pout.) And now we're a good 500 miles away. T_T (That's an 8-hour car ride, by the way. x.x) (OH! But he's coming up in a few weeks, and he's staying for about two weeks, and then we're going on a cruise!!) So, whenever I call him, I'm like, "!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I LOVE YOU! I miss youuuuuuuuuuuuu…………!!!!" I sound just like Naruto, when he was calling Sasuke.

(Wow. That was a SHORT point for a LONG story.)

Sorry if I bored everyone. :(

Please review!!!! :D

Love love love love love! Muah!


	16. And Thus Begins the Vicious Circle

Oh, wow! Look at me go! Two chapters in one month! Whee! And if I don't get chapter 17 out before then, happy almost one year anniversary of the publication of this fic!! :) I couldn't have done it without all of my wonderful readers, reviewers, and subscribers! I love you guys! :)

Super special thanks to those of you who reviewed!!! Thanks to Nanin, . (Thanks so much for the error point-out! I went back and fixed it. Thanks so much!), Sakuramar, KL Lover, kai, cadywise, gaaranojutsu02 (Yay! Virtual cookies are my absolute favorite!!), Alicefreak, natsukileeRKOlover, Blondie724 (hiiiiiii!!!!!), and CryForHelp (Good luck with your story! I'd love to read and review it when the chapters come out! :))!!! Haha, and thanks to everyone who reads all my side notes! XD I loved reading your responses to my ridiculously long stories!! :3 I love you guys! :)

Also, thanks to everyone who pointed out on that all of the quotations and punctuations had magically disappeared! I'll be on a closer look out in the future to make sure that never happens again! :( Also, I fixed it, so if there were those of you who were too irked to read the previous chapter, I apologize.

-

_Chapter 16: And Thus Begins the Vicious Circle of Jealousy_

Naruto paced his apartment on June 15th as he waited for Sasuke's plane to land and for him to come back home. Every time his phone buzzed, he would jump in the air, but it was never Sasuke. He knew Sasuke probably wouldn't get back home until late afternoon, but he still couldn't sit still until that time.

He jumped nearly three feet in the air at noon when his front door opened. Sasuke stuck his head around the door, and Naruto started screaming before racing up to him and pulling him into a hug.

"I thought you told me your plane didn't even land until five!" Naruto shouted, still not letting go of Sasuke.

"I wanted to surprise you," Sasuke answered. "Naruto, let go a little. I think I just heard one of my ribs crack."

Naruto released him from the hug and pulled him into a deep kiss. When he released Sasuke, he was startled to see Itachi standing just beyond his doorway. Itachi's smile widened when he realized Naruto's eyes were on his.

"Sorry, Naru-kun." Itachi's voice would send chills down even a polar bear's spine. "My brother would be wise to unpack his suitcases. Don't mind if I steal him for a few minutes."

Naruto's heart clenched as he watched Sasuke turn around. The past two weeks had been so miserable; he didn't think he could stand another _second _without him. "Ano—! Itachi…" He froze when Itachi's icy eyes met his own, but, after imagining another moment without Sasuke, he was able to break free from his slight paralyzation. "Itachi! Could I come over and help Sasuke put his things away?"

Naruto felt very silly for a moment. Why would he need Itachi's permission, anyway? But, the way Itachi's eyes had frozen Naruto to the core… Itachi was dangerous, and Naruto would have to be very careful around him.

Itachi's expression changed. Naruto could still sense his dangerous aura, but Itachi's eyes had closed in a smile. "Of course you can, Naruto. With both of you putting things away, it shouldn't take any time at all. And after it's all away, why don't we all go out to dinner together?"

Naruto panicked. He remembered the last times he went out to dinner with the elder Uchiha in tow. The atmosphere was always tense and awkward. But if Naruto were to refuse the invitation…he was afraid he would wake up the next morning with pieces missing.

However, before he had to make a life-threatening decision, Sasuke jumped in. "Sorry, Itachi, but Naruto's friend Temari invited us to her place for dinner. She's had this planned for several days now, so it would be rude to say no."

Itachi's eyes narrowed a little, and the muscle along his jaw twitched. "Well…if she's had this planned out… But—tomorrow night. Tomorrow night, we will have dinner together."

Naruto and Sasuke gulped, both unable to think of a way out of the second dinner invitation. Besides, if they were to refuse that one as well, Itachi would begin to suspect something. Suddenly, an idea struck Naruto. At the time, he wasn't sure if it were a good idea or a bad one, but the words were out of his mouth before he could stop them.

"Instead of going out tomorrow night, how about I cook dinner for the both of you here? I might not be a five-star chef, but I'm not that bad, either!"

Sasuke stared at him as if unable to believe how incredibly stupid the blond could be. Itachi was at a loss for words for a moment, too, but finally spoke and broke the thick silence.

"All right, Naruto. That sounds great. We'll be here tomorrow night, then."

With a swish of his floor-length coat, Itachi had disappeared into the adjacent apartment.

Pale and with teeth chattering, both Naruto and Sasuke sank to the floor.

"I can't believe you invited him over for dinner," Sasuke moaned. "And you'd better text Temari and make sure she doesn't have any plans for tonight. If we're still here, Itachi would cook _us _for dinner!"

Naruto pulled his cell out of his pocket to text the blonde girl, but at that moment it rang in his hand. He jumped and seemed confused when he saw Temari's name on the caller ID. "Moshi moshi, Temari…"

"Naruto!" she roared. "Naruto! I know you said Sasuke's plane was landing today, but did you want to have that dinner tonight? I sent Kankuro out to buy groceries, and he bought more fish than we can eat in one night."

"Temari," Naruto wheezed, his voice only a step above a whisper. "Temari, you are a goddess among angels… Sasuke just got here, and we're starving. Can we come over as soon as he's finished unpacking?"

"Sure. I think I'll invite Neji, Shikamaru, Kiba, and Hinata over, too. Seriously. Never have Kankuro get your groceries. There's enough fish to feed a large army. I have no idea how he was able to carry all of this home."

Naruto laughed. "It sounds like a party! We'll be there in an hour or so."

Naruto hung up his phone and pulled Sasuke into a tight hug. "We're saved! We're saved by the girl with the quadra-pigtails! Come on, let's go get your stuff unpacked! The faster we finish, the faster we can get out of this apartment complex…"

-

It didn't take long for the pair to empty Sasuke's suitcases, especially with the thought of Itachi lurking in the room next door. Deciding to wait until the next day to start the laundry, Sasuke merely threw his dirty clothes into piles beside his door while Naruto put the toiletries back in the bathroom.

"Let me grab a quick shower before we leave," Sasuke said as he shoved the now empty suitcases under his bed. "I didn't have time to get one before I jumped on the plane this morning, and my hair feels naked without product."

Naruto dragged his lips lightly across Sasuke's. "You sure you don't want me to join you?" he invited with a wink.

The room dropped several degrees when Itachi sidled into his little brother's bedroom. "Naru-kun, I have a favor to ask of you."

Exchanging frightened glances with Sasuke, he knew he couldn't refuse a "favor" of Itachi's. "Uh… Wha—What is it?"

Because of the high-collared coat Itachi was wearing, Naruto couldn't tell the elder Uchiha's exact expression, but he could imagine the smirk steadily widening. "Don't act so frightened, Naru-kun. I won't bite. But…I need your opinion on something."

Naruto mouthed "I'll be fine" back to Sasuke as he was practically dragged from the room.

Even though Naruto's apartment had the same layout as the Uchiha's, he felt as if he had entered an entirely new dimension when he was dragged into Itachi's bedroom. Naruto tried to convince himself that the anxious feeling he got was because he used this room as a storage area and that he never entered this room in his apartment, but deep inside, past where he could convince himself, he knew that the general _aura _of this room held the same icy expression as Itachi's eyes.

Once he had managed to brace himself against the ominous aura of the room, he took the time to look around and notice the décor Itachi chose to surround himself in. Dark curtains hung heavily over the windows, and everything seemed painted black until Itachi switched on his bedside lamp. There was a large canopy bed in the dead center of the room, taking up much of the limited space. Not knowing much about fabrics, even Naruto could tell that the dark colored sheets and the surrounding black canopy were worth more than all the furniture in his house combined.

The carpets within all the apartments were a dull grey color, but Itachi's seemed even darker with the curtains blocking out all natural light and with an opaque lampshade obscuring the one light source in the room. The walls were painted a deep blood red—the same color as Itachi's eyes when he grew angry; the doors to the closet and the bathroom were painted a deep black—the shade of Itachi's eyes when he didn't want anyone to know he was angry.

(Author's Note: The set up of the apartment is a little odd, so I just want to clear up a little confusion. It's a two bedroom two bathroom set up. Itachi's/Naruto's storage space bathroom entrance is in his room. However, Sasuke's/Naruto's bathroom entrance is out in the hallway, such that Sasuke's/Naruto's bedroom is nestled between the two bathrooms but without a direct access to either.)

Itachi led Naruto to a large oak desk that took up the wall opposite his bed. He waited until he heard the water running in Sasuke's bathroom before finally enlightening Naruto why he had brought him in here.

"This is where I do all of my work." Itachi gestured to the stacks of handwritten pages scattered across his desk. "I'm sure Sasuke's told you that I'm a playwright and that I've written the original plays for both _Insomniac's Dream _and _The Seven Suns_."

Naruto nodded, knowing he had heard this information before. It hid him suddenly, however, when he realized he had never heard it directly from Sasuke's lips but from Gaara's.

A smile pulled once more at Itachi's lips, correctly guessing from Naruto's expression that Sasuke hadn't told him. "But then again, my brother does like to keep things a secret. Hm… I wonder what else my brother has been keeping secret from you?"

Naruto tensed, not sure what Itachi would gain from provoking him like this. He recalled the article from _Hiroto's Progress_ as well as the Wikipedia page he had scanned and realized that nearly all of the information he had read had been new news. But…that worked with him and Sasuke and their relationship…didn't it?

"He tells me enough," Naruto countered. He felt himself growing frustrated with Itachi…and also with himself. He had always told himself that he wouldn't pry into Sasuke's life and that he would wait until Sasuke was ready to tell him what he should know…but what if Sasuke were one of those people who only answered the questions asked? Would it be okay for him to ask these unanswered questions after they had been unasked this whole time? Then again, he couldn't learn everything about his boyfriend's life from tabloids and Wikipedia…

"I'm sure he does." Itachi watched Naruto squirm under his gaze. The blond was exactly where he wanted him—and he had _no idea_! What a stupid brat! He waited a few more moments, savoring Naruto's expressions and memorizing them. "Naru-kun… You've seen _Insomniac's Dream_, correct?"

Naruto snapped out of his reverie and nodded lifelessly. "I saw it the day you moved in."

"What did you think about it?"

Naruto could feel his heart grinding to a stop. All relationships with the lead actor aside, the _original writer _of the film was asking him for his opinion! How was he supposed to take this? And there was no way he could answer truthfully. Even before he had seen Sasuke in the flesh, he had been staring at his cinematically beautiful body for the entirety of the movie. To this day, he still had no idea what the actual plot was…

But he had to say something—and fast! Itachi's gaze was piercing through his skin, and Naruto wasn't entirely sure, but he had an eerie feeling that Itachi could read his thoughts. "It—It was… It was good."

"Good?" Itachi repeated. "Naru-kun, you never cease to amaze me with your eloquence." Before Naruto could retaliate, Itachi thrust a thick sheaf of papers into his arms. "Naru-kun, I want to ask you a favor. I want you to read the original play and tell me how it compares to the movie."

"Oh." Naruto narrowed his eyes at the abnormally thick stack of papers. Thinking back, he couldn't remember ever having read something this thick—not even the books he was assigned for classes! And he was expected to read through this and analyze it against a movie he only vaguely remembered? And then what? Write a book report? …Was there a chance he could refuse?

Probably not. With a glance at Itachi's expression, make that a "definitely no."

"Don't feel like there's a deadline or anything, but remember that I'm anxiously awaiting your opinion." Itachi's voice was dangerously low, and Naruto felt the sudden primal urge to crawl into a hole in the ground.

The water in the bathroom shut off, and a few minutes later, Sasuke stalked into the room, wrapped only in a towel. "Naruto. You're still here."

Itachi answered for Naruto. "I'm sorry, little brother. The time escaped us, and I kept him in here longer than I meant to."

Sasuke eyed the copy of _Insomniac's Dream _held tentatively in Naruto's arms. "Itachi, you shouldn't bother Naruto with your plays. He doesn't have time to read that."

Itachi waved his hand exasperatedly. "Nonsense, nonsense. He's on summer vacation, right? He has all the time in the world!"

"He does have his part time job," Sasuke retaliated.

"Well, it's not like I'm giving him a deadline." Itachi's eyes flashed red. "Now… Isn't there somewhere the two of you were supposed to be?"

Naruto glanced at the time on his cell phone. "Oh God! I told Temari we'd be there in fifteen minutes! She's going to pitch a bitch fit if we're late!"

Sasuke sighed. "I'll be dressed in no less than a minute, and we can get going. Itachi, can you call someone? I don't even know who's on your do and don't do list at the moment. And have whoever it is bring a car." He latched onto Naruto's wrist and dragged him from the room and into his own.

The black-haired teen was even more silent than usual as Zetsu drove the pair to Gaara, Temari, and Kankuro's apartment. The walk to their apartment would have only been ten minutes, but that would have taken long enough for Temari to flay them alive. Zetsu opted to wait for them in the car, and the pair entered the apartment with less than thirty seconds to spare.

"Sasuke!" Temari shouted. "Naruto! I'm so glad you two made it on time!"

Naruto noticed a half empty bottle of wine on the counter and rolled his eyes. "Getting drunk this early in the day, are we, Temari?" he snorted. "Honestly. Just because you're twenty-one doesn't mean you can get this wasted at four in the afternoon."

"It's five o'clock somewhere!" she shouted, her face growing rosier by the moment.

Gaara entered the room and first eyed the wine bottle and then his tipsy sister. "Careful, Temari," he snarled. "If you're not careful, you're going to end up on the streets same as our alcoholic father."

Temari rolled her eyes. "You Gaara too much, worry!"

The insomniac sighed. "I guess I'm going to cook dinner. Temari, go sit down." He eyed Naruto's arms and pointed. "What's that?"

Naruto jumped, realizing that he had been carrying the script for _Insomniac's Dream_ all this time. "Oh… It's—"

Without waiting for Naruto to finish, he removed the heavy script from Naruto's arms. After leafing through the pages, his nose wrinkled in disgust. "Itachi gave this to you? Figures he'd need an ego boost after writing such a shitty play as this. Honestly, how many people did he have to sleep with to convince them to turn this piece of shit into a movie?"

"You didn't like it?" Sasuke asked curiously. After having been silent all this time, Naruto noticed with morbid satisfaction that Sasuke's mood picked up with Gaara's bashing of his brother.

Gaara smirked, also noticing the change in Sasuke's mood. "I saw the play performed by a band of professional thespians, and even their genius couldn't keep this play from being a flop. And you definitely couldn't blame it on the acting—not with how many awards were pinned to their jerkins. No, it was the writing. The writing was godawful."

Naruto's stomach rumbled, and he noticed with disdain that no one was cooking dinner. Skirting around his boyfriend and best friend, he made his way to the fridge and opened it. With a sweatdrop, he realized why Temari needed so many people over as he began to pull out pound after pound and placing the fish on the island.

"Temari!" he called into the adjacent living room. "Temari, what were you planning to do with all this fish? Were you going to smoke it, or what?"

"I thought we were having sushi!" Hinata called back from the other room.

Naruto poked his head into the living room and saw Temari, Kankuro, Hinata, Kiba, Neji, and Shikamaru were sprawled out on the furniture. "Oh! I didn't know everyone was here already. Okay! Sushi it is! Temari, do you have seaweed wraps?"

Temari shrugged. "Kankuro, did you buy seaweed wraps when you were out buying every fish in the sea?"

Kankuro shook his head. "No. I got fish, wine, and rice. You didn't say anything about seaweed." He picked up his voice as he called, "Gaara! Do we have any seaweed wraps anywhere?"

"No," Gaara called back. "We haven't had sushi in nearly two years."

Naruto sighed. "Well, we can't have sushi without seaweed. Unless we have nigiri. But that's boring. Kankuro, you didn't get any vegetables?"

"I think we have…a carrot," Temari answered.

"Well, fuck this," Gaara grumbled. "Come on, Naruto. We've got some shopping to do."

The front door closed behind Gaara, Naruto, and Sasuke. Hinata stared for a while. "I wonder what crawled into his panties and died."

"Gaara's just being his regular grumpy self," Temari answered with a loud laugh.

"No, not Gaara," Hinata answered. "I was talking about Sasuke…"

-

Sasuke wouldn't allow Zetsu to drive them to the store, so he ended up following them on foot, figuring that driving behind Sasuke at two miles an hour down a one way street would cause more issues than it would solve.

Upon reaching the grocery store, Naruto immediately headed to the back for the seaweed wraps before detouring back to the vegetables and grabbing several cucumbers, radishes, and carrots. He felt awkward with Sasuke and Gaara and Zetsu following him without saying a word.

Trying to spark some conversation, he turned around and said, "I guess I should grab some stuff for tomorrow night's dinner, too. What does Itachi like to eat?"

Apparently, he asked at the wrong time. "Fuck if I know," Sasuke snarled, his eyes turning the same shade of red Itachi's turned when he was angry.

"Why are you cooking for Itachi?" Gaara asked incredulously.

"Long story," Naruto answered, "but it involved me keeping my balls connected to my body."

"Gaara, you should come to the dinner tomorrow night."

Naruto knew he shouldn't feel jealous, but he did.

Why would Sasuke invite Gaara? It's not like they were particularly close…but maybe they were? Without Naruto noticing, had Sasuke gotten close to Gaara?

Wait—! Shouldn't Naruto be happy for Sasuke? All fame and fortune aside, Sasuke was "the new kid in town," and while they were out for the summer, it would, in theory, be harder for Sasuke to be making new friends in this new city. Especially since Sasuke was gone most of the time with filming and photo shoots.

Or maybe the most obvious reason for inviting Gaara to the dinner would be to put an extra buffer between themselves and Itachi. With more people over, perhaps Itachi wouldn't spend the entire evening boring holes into Sasuke and Naruto's sanity.

Swallowing hard, Naruto realized he was reading way too deeply into things. "Gaara, you love tempura, right? We'll have that tomorrow night. With miso soup. Eto… The miso broth is on aisle three, I think…"

By the time they made it back to the apartment, both Gaara and Sasuke's moods had picked up. They weren't quite back to their usual sullen selves, but they had definitely bounced back from murderous. Sasuke even volunteered to help Naruto make the rice and cutting the vegetables. The others eventually wandered into the kitchen and helped with rolling their own preferences of sushi and nigiri.

When they were finally stuffed, Temari was still eyeing the leftover fish warily. "Maybe I should have invited Choji," she mused.

"I don't think even Choji could have helped us finish this!" Naruto answered with a laugh. "Seriously, Kankuro! Didn't you realize something was up when they rang up all the fish? How much did you pay for all of this?"

"A little over 95,000 Yen," Kankuro answered nonchalantly. (A/N: 95,000 Yen = roughly a little under $1,000. Goodness, Kankuro!)

Temari's jaw dropped. "You spent that much on food?! Are you insane?!"

Kankuro shrugged. "I told you I've never been grocery shopping before…"

"I—I'll take some of the fish home," Hinata spoke up.

"I will, too," Kiba added. "Akamaru loves fish!"

"Sora!" Naruto shouted. "I'll bring some home for Sora!"

"Thank you, everyone," Temari answered with a smile. "Seriously. I don't even know how all of this fish fit in the refrigerator. And it was really good, so it would be a shame to freeze it…"

-

Naruto woke up the next morning with something of a headache. He felt like he had been worrying about something the previous day, but he couldn't remember what it was. Something with Sasuke…? Maybe?

He glanced to his left and saw the picture of them kissing from the magazine. With a glance at little Naruto, who had apparently woken up a lot sooner than he had, he began to wonder if there could be a way to casually ask Sasuke to stay the night without having Itachi or Gaara feel that the offer was extended to them as well…

He realized that he had been upset the previous night when he had entered his apartment alone. Sasuke had said he needed to do nearly five loads of laundry and that he really needed to get some sleep, that he hadn't slept well the night before. Naruto accepted these excuses, but for some reason, he really couldn't shake this strange feeling he was having.

Thinking back over the previous day, he realized that these strange feelings had started up since his talk with Itachi.

Itachi—

Kisame's warnings echoed through Naruto's mind, and flashes of the shark brought to tears after the break-up whipped through his mind. Itachi was dangerous. And whatever Itachi was planning, Naruto had somehow already been swept up in it.

Well, he wasn't going to fall victim to Itachi! If Itachi had started these feelings of jealousy or mistrust or whatever it was, Naruto was just going to ignore them! He loved Sasuke. Wasn't that all that mattered?

He decided to call the one person who would know the answer.

Kisame had just climbed out of the shower and was toweling dry his blue hair when he heard his cell phone ring. He glanced at the caller ID and was surprised to see Naruto's name. "Moshi moshi. Naruto, what's wrong?"

"Moshi moshi," Naruto answered.

"What did Itachi do this time?" Kisame asked before Naruto had a chance to explain the situation.

"Eto… Well, he said a few things about me and Sasuke yesterday…and it made me think a little. Kisame, I really don't know much about Sasuke's personal life. Is he… Do you think he's hiding something from me?"

Kisame laugh was deep and sounded even deeper over the phone. "He's got you by the balls, Naruto. Listen, everyone has secrets. I'm sure you're keeping some stuff from Sasuke, ne? Sometimes, you just can't remember to tell everyone everything. And some people really just don't like talking about themselves. Listen, with Sasuke…it will take some time before he trusts you and tells you everything. He doesn't want to be a part of it, so he doesn't want to tell you about it."

"Tell me about what?"

"You know… Everything. The whole reason he's in this business to begin with. Itachi's held him by the throat his whole life, so now that he's with you… You're probably the first choice he's made without Itachi's influence, so he's trying to start over. He wants to forget everything from his past and start over."

"But—But that doesn't make any sense! Your past actions dictate who you are today! You can try to start over all you want, but you can't forget your past…!"

Kisame laughed once more. "Still so young… Listen, chibi, just bear with Sasuke through all this. It should all make sense in the end."

"But, I don't want to wait… I hate waiting."

"Whatever, chibi. But, I'm going to be late for work. Ja ne!"

Naruto stuck his tongue out at the disconnected phone. "Fat load of help that did. Baka Kisame…" He glanced sadly at the picture on his wall once more. It felt like so long ago that he and Sasuke were making their debut as a new couple. It felt so exhilarating and exciting.

When was the last time they had been on a date, even?

"Oh, stop that, Naruto!" he scolded himself. "You know Sasuke's hard pressed to find a time for dating! And me, too, with all the work I've been doing!" He looked up, startled, when he realized someone was standing against his doorframe.

"Have you been reduced to talking to yourself now, dobe?" Sasuke asked with a smirk.

Having been terrified for a moment that Itachi was in his house, Naruto calmed down considerably when he realized it was Sasuke. "What's it to ya?" he responded jokingly.

Sasuke moved fluidly toward Naruto. "It means a lot to me, dobe. I'm sorry I was so cold to you yesterday. I get like that when I haven't had much sleep."

Naruto shook his head. "I didn't notice anything."

With a roll of his eyes, Sasuke gave Naruto a glimpse of one of his rare smiles he saved specifically for his blond Adonis. "You don't have to lie to me, dobe. I was acting like a complete bitch. But, coupled with two solid weeks of filming and running off of very little sleep, there was also the incident with Itachi…"

Naruto hung his head, suddenly feeling guilty. "Yeah… Itachi threw me for a loop, too. I didn't feel myself after talking with him, either."

Sasuke took Naruto's hand in his own. "Naruto, even if you forget everything else, all you need to remember is that I love you with all of my being. Just remember that, and we can get through anything Itachi throws our way."

-

The more I listen to modern rap, the more I realize their profanity has nothing on the Red Hot Chili Peppers. Seriously. "Sir Psycho Sexy" is porn. You can't top that. Except for maybe "Apache Rose Peacock." Goodness gracious, Mr. Anthony Kiedis. (In addition to nearly 70% of their early songs including at least one or two lines of good ol' porn, Red Hot Chili Peppers is my second favorite band, after Placebo.)

The boyfriend's due here in eight days! Haha, I know all of you are just as excited as I am!! :)

No abnormally long story this time, but maybe next time! :)

Please review! I love reviews! They make me very, very, very happy! :)


	17. Secret Notes

AAAAHHHHH! It's been a year since I've updated! I'm so sorry! During that time, I've had many a hate letter. I'm sorry! :( In other news, I'm now a published author. I know that doesn't make up for my year of absence, and for that, I apologize with my entirety. I hope you've stuck with me this long, and I hope you'll continue sticking with me until I complete this story.

Also, I've added a little one-shot called _Saturday Morning Peaches _under my penname on AFF to keep you tided over until the next chapter.

Thanks a thousand bazillion and one to every one of my readers and reviewers! Special thanks to kitchan (Thank you for the feedback! I've tried to keep your suggestions in mind while writing this chapter, so we'll see how it works out.), Rianestorm (There's some Gaa/Kimi in here, and I think there will be a little more next chapter. :)), Khameron (They're in a slightly weird universe, so some things are a little different. But about the car thing, I think most of them would be too poor to own a car. And I don't know about the rated R movie thing… In my mind _Insomniac's Dream _is rated R, and they went to see it in the first chapter. I might have messed up somewhere, though, and if I did, I'm sorry. I'll try to be more consistent.), Ayuri (I love writing text messages into fics, haha.), alex (I didn't mean to stop writing. It's been a horrible case of writer's block for nearly every story I'm working on. Plus I'm really busy with college, but I'm trying to crank out several updates this summer while I have time.), ShadowOfARealm, Mahlyeki Dyavol, Alicefreak (Haha, I love your stories about what you're doing when you see that I've updated. They make my day. :) I hope you don't scream _too _loudly since it's been a year since the last update… I'm such a mean author. :( ), natsukileeRKOlover, CryForHelp, moopad (I want to give out a spoiler about Gaara and Sasuke, but I caaaaan't!), Anake14 (Most people say that writers should only write while keeping their audience in mind, but I think writers have the freedom to write however and whatever we want, regardless if anyone reads it, so I hope you continue writing even if your teachers don't enjoy it and your audience is very small. Write what you like without giving a damn if anyone else likes it. :)), LadySaturnGirl (I think you should write that story about Sasuke being a model. I think I would enjoy reading it.), Fallen Leafs, inuharrytwiclique (I loved the ending line of the last chapter so much that I couldn't think of anything else to write after it, haha. It was such a great line that nothing else could follow, haha.), melodylane (Sorry it took me so long to update. :( ), HaveTheHabitsHadYou, Dawning-insomnia (I'm glad you found the fic again!), and Firefox (Even though I might go through long stretches of time without updating, I will definitely finish this fic. I have a lot of ideas for it and I've put a lot of effort into it so I'm really anxious to complete it. We've got many more chapters to go, though, so I hope you keep with the fic! :))

I love my readers and reviewers!

_Chapter 17: Secret Notes_

Sasuke had retreated back into his apartment to start another load of laundry, and Naruto decided this would be a good time to sit down and start reading the play version of _Insomniac's Dream_. That way, if all other conversation failed at dinner that evening, he would always have the play to fall back on.

But he had never analyzed a play before! What was he supposed to say? Usually, after he would watch a movie, he would say, "I liked this scene because it was funny," but was that an appropriate way to judge a play? And to the murderous playwright no less!

"What am I going to dooooo?" The blond began tapping his head against the wall in an effort to call ideas into his muddled brain, but all it brought on was a headache. Giving up on head banging, he took the script with him into his living room. When he sat down on the couch, Sora jumped into his lap to take a nap.

The play started off slowly, and it didn't pick up much after that. Naruto hadn't had much exposure to plays outside of traditional Shakespeare, and he had fallen asleep in the middle of the class reading of _Romeo and Juliet_. He preferred modern day literature, especially mysteries and paperbacks he could read in a day.

"Well… I _suppose _this would constitute as modern day literature," Naruto mused. "Maybe it won't be so bad later on. After all, it _was _turned into a movie…"

He moved past the first scene, and Sasuke's character was introduced. He had forced himself to keep reading by imagining the characters from the movie were speaking. However, he had to stop and take a break every few lines once he started imagining Sasuke.

"Well, this is getting me nowhere," he growled.

Sora glanced up at him, her large blue eyes shining. "Meow," she replied before jumping off his lap in search of her litter box.

Remembering the fish he had brought home from Temari's, he made his way into the kitchen to make a snack for himself and Sora. He tossed some olive oil into a pan before throwing several slices into it, letting it cook for a few minutes on both sides. Sora smelled the fish cooking and padded her way into the kitchen, hopping up onto the counter to get a better look.

After finishing his snack, Naruto resigned himself to reading more of the play. Deciding to spice it up a little, however, he chose to create his own one-man show.

"Nanako!" he bellowed as he read Hatori's lines—Sasuke's character. "Nanako, my love! I've been watching you sleep! Your face is still as harmless as a baby bird in springtime!" Naruto wrinkled his nose. "Well, I guess it doesn't get any better when you read it aloud."

And then it hit Naruto, and things began falling into place. As he had been reading, he really couldn't imagine Sasuke as Hatori, yet he had been cast for the role. Itachi, being the writer of the original play, must have obviously had some influence over the cast—but why would he cast Sasuke? Naruto had heard Itachi was Sasuke's manager. Did Itachi just want extra revenue from the movie?

Or did Itachi purposely cast someone with the opposite personality of Hatori? But then…why Sasuke?

"Aaarghh! This doesn't make any sense!" Naruto began running in circles around his couch, and Sora jumped up from her bed and followed him.

.

Dinnertime came a lot faster than Naruto had expected. The hours had dragged on early in the morning as he trudged through terribly written line after terribly written line. Halfway through the second scene, he had finally given up making any more headway and had turned on the television. After sitting through more cartoons than he realized, there was a heavy knock on the door.

Every nerve in his body stood on end. Adrenaline was coursing through his system, yet he couldn't move. Was it Itachi on the other side of that door? Was he here to reprimand Naruto for watching cartoons instead of reading the script?

Slowly, slowly, Naruto made his way across the living room. Halfway to the door, there was another knock, and Naruto picked up his pace. Bracing himself, he threw open the door.

Gaara held up a plate covered in tinfoil. "Temari went crazy after everyone left and made three batches of brownies."

Naruto had forgotten that Sasuke had invited Gaara to the dinner. Simultaneously, he felt the pangs of jealousy that had plagued him the day before as well as a deep swell of relief that Itachi was not over yet.

"Thanks for the brownies," he said with a smile, bringing the plate into the kitchen. "I guess I should get started cooking. Want to help with the tempura?"

Gaara shrugged. "I suppose," he answered, "but are you sure you don't want to change before Itachi gets here?"

Naruto glanced down and realized he had been walking around all day in just a pair of boxers. Gaara watched him, his heavily lined, sea foam green eyes smirking. He gestured to his black skinny jeans and white T-shirt. "Clothes, Naruto," he mocked, "are generally worn in the company of others. And while I don't mind you walking around naked, I'm sure others do."

Sticking out his tongue, Naruto retreated into his bedroom before pulling on a pair of ripped blue jeans and a red T-shirt. "Better?" he asked, coming back into the living room.

Gaara was staring at the television. "Isn't this show for children between ages four and six?"

"And so what if it is?"

His eyes drifted from the television to the open script on the coffee table. "You started reading this?"

Naruto nodded. "Yeah. You were right. It's awful."

Laughing, Gaara retreated into the kitchen. "Don't say I didn't warn you. Here, I'll start the rice, and you pull out the stuff for the tempura."

The next knock sounded nearly thirty minutes after Gaara arrived and made Naruto literally jump in surprise. Wiping sesame oil from his hands, he was practically shaking as he opened the door.

Itachi loomed just past the doorway, dressed in his traditional black coat with red clouds, the collar pulled up so his expressions remained a mystery. Sasuke stood scowling beside him in blue jeans and a tight fitting pale yellow shirt. Naruto waved for them to come in, not trusting himself to speak in the presence of Itachi.

Itachi's eyes narrowed when he saw Gaara. The last time they had met hadn't been very pleasant. "I didn't know you had invited anyone else, Naruto." Itachi's voice remained smooth, but there was definitely an undertone of malice.

"He didn't," Sasuke cut in. "I invited Gaara."

Naruto expected Itachi's eyes to narrow further, but they didn't. His face turned blank, and it was impossible to read any sort of expression. He turned instead to Naruto, choosing to completely ignore Gaara. "So, Master Chef, what are we having this evening?"

"Tempura!" Naruto shouted gleefully. He had taste-tested some shrimp and a carrot and was proud of his work. "I've set the table already, so please, sit. I'll bring in the tempura in a minute."

Sasuke noticed the dining room table situated awkwardly between the kitchen and living room. "Naruto, am I going crazy, or has this table been here the whole time?"

The blond laughed, bringing the tray of shrimp and vegetables to the table. Gaara followed him, carrying a tray of a wide variety of sauces. "This table's been in my storage room. I usually eat at the counter or on the couch, so I have no need for it except for special occasions." He grew silent as he watched the others use their chopsticks to grab at the meal. He held his breath and waited for a response.

"This is delicious!" Sasuke proclaimed, surprised. Usually, Naruto cooked quick and easy meals, and he was surprised the blond had this much culinary talent.

Naruto felt his smile spread across his face. "Really? Thank you! I worked really hard!"

"It's good," Itachi added.

"The mess will be the hard thing to clean up," chuckled Gaara. "There's oil and flour coating the walls, floors, and counters. Yet somehow, the stove is practically spotless."

Around a mouthful of shrimp, Naruto said, "Oh, yeah, no one go in the kitchen until I clean it."

The remainder of the meal consisted mostly of Naruto babbling about this and that while the other three quietly ate their meal. When they finished eating, Naruto was still talking as he carried the dishes back into the kitchen. Sasuke followed, bringing in the dishes that Naruto couldn't carry, but he nearly dropped them when he saw the mess.

"Naruto!" he gasped, not sure where to set the dishes. "This place is a _mess_!"

The blond scowled. "Have you ever made tempura? It's fucking hard!" He took the dishes from Sasuke and pushed him from the room. "You're my guest tonight. Go relax! I'll clean."

"It'll take you _days _to clean that mess," Gaara called from the couch, switching on the television.

Naruto tugged a pair of blue gloves halfway to his elbow before letting them snap back. "So you think! I've cleaned bigger messes than this in an hour!" But inside, he was crying. There was nothing more frustrating to clean from surfaces than flour. He pulled out a sponge and disinfectant and started cleaning the walls first.

About twenty minutes later, Naruto felt the small hairs on the back of his neck stand on end. A shudder raced down his back before he could stop it. When he turned around, his mouth went dry when he found himself face to face with Itachi. Seeming not to notice Naruto's panic, Itachi pointed at the floor and simply asked, "Where do you keep your mop?"

"Ah! You don't have to help me clean," said Naruto. "It's my kitchen, so I should clean it."

Itachi shook his head. "No, I will help you clean. Besides, there's something I want to talk to you about…"

Naruto's heart stopped for a second and seemed unwilling to start back up again. Hand shaking, he pointed to a closet in the corner. "I—In there," he stuttered. What could Itachi possibly want to talk to him about? Perhaps the play? His mind went blank, and he suddenly couldn't remember a word he had read. Panicking, he went back to scrubbing the dishes, hoping against hope he'd remember _something_—especially something he liked about the play.

Hair on end, Naruto realized how close Itachi was standing behind him. He pulled the drain stop on the side of the sink Naruto wasn't using and filled it with warm water. _Does he have to stand that close? _Naruto wondered, bracing himself against the chills that threatened to tear down his back.

"Where do you keep your floor cleaner?" Itachi whispered into Naruto's ear once the sink had been filled.

Mortified, Naruto realized he had stood there, completely frozen, while Itachi had his way with terrifying the poor blond. "I—I'll go get it," he squeaked. He ducked out from Itachi's presence and practically ran to his laundry room. As he reached for the floor cleaner stored above the washer and dryer, he noticed Sora curled up tightly next to the dryer. She gazed at him with blue eyes, gray tail flicking rhythmically, before letting out a small _mew_.

Kneeling down, Naruto looked worriedly at his kitten. "What's wrong, Sora?" He glanced toward the kitchen where he knew Itachi was waiting. "It's okay," he mouthed, too terrified even to whisper. "He'll be gone soon. Don't worry."

Naruto added a generous amount of floor cleaner to the sink of warm water, and Itachi began to mop the floor as Naruto continued with the dishes.

"So, I read part of the play," Naruto began shakily. "I finished the first act, and so far, there are quite a few differences between it and the movie."

Itachi rinsed out the mop. When he didn't say anything for nearly a minute, Naruto was petrified. Perhaps he didn't want to hear how the play compared to the movie? But what was he supposed to talk about? He had never analyzed literature outside of class, and he wasn't very good at it.

Finally, he spoke. "Naruto, I want to talk about Sasuke." His words were like a bucket of ice water poured over his head, running down his back. "I appreciate that you two have become such good friends since we moved, but I should warn you not to get too attached to him. It's hard being the boyfriend of someone who travels so much as part of his job. Eventually he'll get bored of you, and it's not that hard to cheat if he gets a hotel room to himself away from his lover for weeks at a time—"

"What are you talking about?"

Naruto glanced up at Sasuke, who was standing in the doorway, seething. Never before had he seen such a look of acrimony in the brunette's dark eyes.

Itachi's face was mostly obscured by his coat, but Naruto could practically feel his ice cold smile. "I'm writing a new play, little brother, and wanted Naruto's opinion. What do you think? An unsatisfied lover taking advantage of his traveling job?"

"It's an overdone story." Gaara leaned casually against the wall, his eyes trying to pierce through Itachi's thick armor. "But I don't think the lover would have cheated in the first place, regardless of fancy hotel rooms and long vacations. He's not that kind of guy."

"Then perhaps an affair when he's home?" Itachi sneered. "I think someone very close to him would gladly snatch him away."

"Not if the couple is still together!" Gaara hissed.

Silence broke through the kitchen, and Itachi's eyes slowly slid closed, the mind behind them thinking, formulating a new plan. "Of course. Perhaps there is much more work to be done than I had initially anticipated. It's only in the first act, but I think—"

Itachi broke off, realizing he was speaking aloud. He handed the mop off to Gaara and said to Naruto, "I do apologize, but there's much work to be done. I will take my leave now. Thank you for dinner and an enjoyable evening."

The door shut, and Naruto sank to the floor, tears stinging his eyes, his heart racing. Sora peeked cautiously out of the laundry room before dashing into Naruto's lap, curling into a tight ball.

Sasuke felt his hand curl into a fist. He was shaking with rage at the words Itachi had spoken. Why was he always trying to tear him away from those he loved…?

The brunette stepped forward and sank to his knees in front of Naruto. He placed his hands on the blond's shoulders and leaned in until their foreheads touched. "Please don't listen to Itachi. He only said those things to hurt you."

Naruto shook and brought Sora closer to his body…but didn't respond.

"Naruto, you know I love you, and I would never hurt you."

"I—I know…"

But once the seed of jealousy and doubt had been planted, what then but to wait for it to wither and die?

Sasuke's hands tightened momentarily on Naruto's shoulders. "I—I need to come clean with you, though. There was a time before…when I was like that. I dated men for no other reason than sex, and I would cheat on them if I grew bored. But I've never loved anyone before like I've loved you…"

Shocked, Naruto couldn't move, his breath caught in his throat. He had never thought of Sasuke being with anyone else before because those thoughts inevitably moved down the bitter path toward Orochimaru. How many men had touched _his _Sasuke before? He needed to know. "Sasuke… How many boyfriends have you had before?"

Sasuke's hands dropped to his side. "I—I would consider…you to be my first boyfriend. I've only had flings before. And I don't know exactly how many."

Did he really need to know?

"M—Maybe I should go." Gaara quickly grabbed his coat, mumbled a good bye, and dashed out the door, leaving behind two boys with a huge speed bump in their relationship.

"Na—Naruto? Naruto, please… What are you thinking?"

The blond was numb inside. He moved Sora from his lap and stood up, his eyes locked on the kitchen floor. "I think—I need some time to think. You can stay here. Just give me an hour or two." He moved to his bedroom, leaving Sasuke behind in the still messy kitchen.

Sasuke watched him exit the room, his heart crumbling to pieces. He wondered if he had ever before seen Naruto without a smile on his face.

.

Naruto lay on his back staring at the ceiling, trying to make pictures out of the dimples in his ceiling tiles. He tried to empty his mind, to push all the bad thoughts out of his brain and do a reboot. He knew the past was the past, but this past… Sasuke had never said one word about himself, and this was the first thing he had to hear directly from his lips? It wasn't _fair_!

But why wouldn't the life of a model contain loose relationships? He realized that wasn't the part that bothered him.

Then was it the fact that Sasuke hadn't told him about his ex-boyfriends? No, that wasn't it, either, because Naruto hadn't told him about his ex-girlfriends. He hadn't even told him about the two weeks that he and Hinata dated…

So what was it? What was bothering him? He couldn't let Itachi's poisonous words get to him—!

Jealousy?

Maybe it was the fear that one day…one day Sasuke _would _cheat—

"IMPOSSIBLE!" he roared. He jumped up onto his bed, rage chasing away Itachi's venom. How could he have let Itachi sway him as much as he had?

Leaping from his bed, he raced down the hallway and grabbed Sasuke up in his arms, holding him tightly. He whispered the brunette's name over and over until his heart finally slowed. "I'm sorry. I let Itachi—"

"I should have told you sooner," Sasuke broke off. "I was really promiscuous. But I haven't had a relationship for nearly six months since my previous fling and you. And I promise that I would never hurt you like the others…"

"I know you would never hurt me," Naruto confessed. "And I think that even if you did, I would be too stubborn to let you go." He looked Sasuke straight in the eyes and said, "I will win you back!"

A soft smile grew on Sasuke's lips. "You're too good to me. I don't deserve you."

"Even if you don't deserve me, I wouldn't be with anyone else."

.

Haku watched in shock and fear as three men in black suits ripped through his apartment, tearing apart his furniture. Hearing footsteps grow louder outside his door, he had jumped into the secret hidey hole Zabuza had carved from the wall for moments such as these. What these men were looking for, Haku had no idea, but he was sure they wouldn't believe him. All he knew was that he wanted to get out of here—far away from here.

After the apartment had been completely shredded, the men left, but Haku didn't dare take a sigh of relief. He had known that one day Zabuza's relations with the yakuza would get them in trouble, but this was beyond trouble. Zabuza had sworn he hadn't given out his address, but someone had found them.

Nearly four hours later, he cautiously crept from his hiding place and walked silently to the door. He gazed out the peep hole and didn't see anyone. Walking to the window, he was careful to keep his form hidden as he looked out at the street below. Still not seeing any of the men from before, Haku rushed into the kitchen, grabbed a garbage bag, and began throwing any undamaged item he could find that he would need for the getaway.

He paused, wondering for a moment if he should leave now—leave Zabuza behind. Could love overcome running from the yakuza?

There wasn't time to decide. The front door opened, and Haku instinctually threw his body under the bed. Recognizing the footsteps immediately as Zabuza's, he climbed back out from the bed and ran toward his lover. Throwing his arms around Zabuza's neck, he cried.

"What happened here?" Zabuza whispered.

Still crying, Haku tried his best to answer. "Three men—I hid—tore everything apart—!"

Zabuza's arms tightened around the frail boy. "Haku… Haku, I'm so sorry. I didn't think they'd ever bother you. I'm sorry. I should have listened to you before. I should have put your safety above everything else."

"I started packing," Haku said, wiping away his tears. Now was not the time to cry; now was the time to be brave.

Zabuza looked through the garbage bag, nodding. "One more thing…" He opened Haku's bedside table and released a false panel. Under it was more cash than Haku had ever seen in his life. "With this money," Zabuza explained, "we can start over. Just the two of us. This time, I promise I won't make any mistakes. This time, I will think only of you."

Haku nodded and held open the bag while Zabuza shoveled the money inside. He grabbed Zabuza by the arm softly. "I love you."

Zabuza smiled softly. "I know. And I love you, too." He hoisted the bag over his shoulder and took Haku's hand in his own. "Are you ready?"

"No… One more thing." He searched through the mess of the apartment until he found a scrap of paper and a pen. Quickly, he scrawled out a note and stuffed it in his pocket.

"We don't have time to stop anywhere," Zabuza explained sadly.

A quick, sharp nod. "I know. But Kimimaro lives in our building. Please… He can bring it to Naruto."

Torn between letting his boyfriend deliver a note to a precious friend and wasting precious time, he finally caved. "All right. But first, grab your disguise from the hiding place."

"Of course…" Haku grabbed a white mask from the hidey hole, two thin slits for eyes, four slanted gray lines as corners of a square at the top, and a thick burgundy calligraphy stroke across the cheek. He drew his hair into a tight bun while Zabuza pulled a mask over the lower half of his face and a bandana across his forehead.

Running down the stairs, Haku made a quick stop on the third floor and slid his note under Kimimaro's door, praying that it would find its way to Naruto. Together, he and Zabuza ran toward the subway, trying their best to stay in the shadows, ready to start a new life together.

.

Kimimaro noticed the note slide under his door and picked it up immediately. When he opened the door to see who had left it, there was no one in sight. Curious, he opened it up—then quickly realized it wasn't addressed to him. Who would leave a note for Naruto under his door at this hour of the night?

It seemed important, whatever it was. But he didn't know where Naruto lived, and he wouldn't have a shift with him until next week…

He pulled out his cell phone and scrolled through the very short list of numbers until he reached Gaara's.

It rang twice before Gaara picked up. "Kimimaro? What's wrong? Do you need to go to the hospital?"

"Ah, no, nothing like that. Something very strange just happened, though. Someone pushed a note under my door a few minutes ago, and it's addressed to Naruto. I don't see him for another week, so do you think if I gave it to you, you could give it to him?"

Having just come from the nightmare dinner, Gaara chewed his lip nervously. "I don't know if Naruto is up for visitors right now… He just hit a rough patch with Sasuke." He sighed, wondering what to do. "Look, why don't I just come over, and we'll think of something to do?"

Kimimaro blushed. Gaara had never been to his house before. He hadn't really shown any interest in hanging out with him outside of work and hospital visits, really. Maybe he could…

"Yeah, that's fine. Hey, it's late, though, and my place is pretty far from yours. Would it be safe for you to walk back home?"

A pause. "Well, I suppose we could meet somewhere tomorrow morning…"

Kimimaro panicked for a second. That's not where he wanted this conversation to go! "Oh, well, what I meant was…you could stay here…for tonight…" He hoped his lust didn't shine through his voice.

Another pause, and Kimimaro felt his panic swell. How exactly did Gaara feel about him? Did he think of him as some freak who grew huge bone spurs like a demon? Was he disgusted by him?

"Sure. I mean…if it's fine with you."

"I wouldn't offer if it wasn't."

"Well… I don't fall asleep very easily. I'm an insomniac. Even sleeping pills don't work. I don't want to keep you up all night. And I wouldn't want to bother your family."

"I live by myself, and I've been having trouble sleeping lately, too. It's fine. Really."

"…All right. I'll see you in a few."

Gaara hung up his phone and stared blankly at the wall. Had he really just consciously thought about another person's well-being? Usually he didn't give two shits about whether or not his presence was welcome. Then again, he didn't get invited to too many sleepovers besides at Naruto's…and he always fell asleep next to the blond…

Had Naruto really rubbed off on him this much? He was losing his characteristic evil touch.

Stuffing some clothes into a duffel back, he chose not to read too deeply into it. He called out to Temari and Kankuro as he left, "I'm spending the night at a friend's house! I'll see you tomorrow!"

"Good night!" Temari called back before the door shut.

Walking quickly through the night, Gaara thought he saw Haku and Zabuza pass him across the street, but in a moment they were gone. He knew where Kimimaro lived because it was the same building as Haku and the same apartment number as his own. Growing closer to the building, he suddenly realized that all of his friends, he knew through Naruto. Naruto and Kimimaro weren't close. Gaara and Kimimaro were getting to be pretty close friends.

Kimimaro would be the first friend Gaara made on his own.

"Fuckin' Naruto's bullshit sunshine and hearts are rubbing off on me," he growled. He pressed the call button for Kimimaro's room. The door swung open, and he let himself into the building.

When Kimimaro opened the door to his room, Gaara noticed his hair was mused. There was also a vacuum cleaner propped haphazardly by the door, and Kimimaro held a cleaning rag in his hand.

"Were you cleaning?" Gaara asked.

Kimimaro blushed, then blushed more when he realized he was blushing. "Ah, yeah. The place was a mess. I wanted it to look presentable…"

Gaara glanced around. It was a small place, in the exact same set up as Haku and Zabuza's apartment. The living room went straight into the bedroom, the two rooms separated by a divider. A small kitchen to the right of the living room, a small bathroom and closet to the right of the bedroom. Sparsely furnished. There was a cozy atmosphere, and Gaara realized he felt at home.

"It's not much," Kimimaro mumbled.

Gaara turned to him, his lips twitching upward. "It's nice," he admired. Surprised at the compliment, both turned away from each other, unsure of what else to say. Gaara cleared his throat and changed subjects. "So… The note?"

Kimimaro rummaged through his pockets and drew out the now crumpled note. Gaara gazed at it curiously before opening it.

"Should we be reading it?" Kimimaro asked nervously, fidgeting.

Gaara shrugged. "We won't know until we read it. Besides, I've never known Naruto to hide anything from me…" He trailed off as he read the contents of the note. His expression didn't change, but his face grew one shade paler. "I—It's from Haku… He and Zabuza fled in the middle of the night. I'll call Naruto and tell him the news."

A small pang of jealousy cut through Kimimaro when Gaara pulled out his phone, but he quickly brushed it away. He had watched Gaara and Naruto working together for several years now at Kyuubi Bookstore, and he knew he had nothing to worry about. The two were just friends. A different feeling took over when he realized that Gaara and Naruto were closer friends than he was with anyone.

"Naruto? I'm sorry if I'm interrupting anything, but this is important. I'm at Kimimaro's, and Haku slipped a note under his door for you. He and Zabuza ran off together."

Naruto heard the words, and his heart stopped. After working through their problems, he and Sasuke had fallen asleep in each other's arms on the couch. He disentangled himself from Sasuke, who woke up and gazed at him curiously through sleep heavy eyes.

"Naruto?" Sasuke queried, rubbing his eyes and stretching. "What's wrong?"

"Haku told me that Zabuza was involved in with the yakuza," Naruto muttered to no one in particular, "but I didn't think they'd ever have to flee. I hope they're okay."

"Let me read you the note," said Gaara. " _'Dear Naruto, I'm sorry to leave town in this way, but some yakuza tore up the apartment. Zabuza and I are taking our money and starting a new life together somewhere. I'm sorry I can't give you any more information. Please don't tell anyone about this note; we don't want anyone to know we've gone. I will try to contact you eventually, but in the meantime, thank you for all you've done for us. You're a great friend, and I'll miss you. With love, Haku.' _What should I do with the note?"

Naruto paused, and the words which left his lips pained him. "We have to destroy it. If the yakuza really are looking for them, they might find the note and realize Haku might try to contact me. That could get me and a lot of other people in trouble."

Gaara agreed, and when the two hung up the phone, Naruto collapsed wearily back onto the couch.

"What happened?" Sasuke asked, smoothing Naruto's hair comfortingly.

Naruto told him about the note. "I miss Haku already… I just have this feeling that I'll never see him again. But…but if Zabuza's with him, I know he's safe."

.

.

I was reading my previous ending author's notes, and I talked a lot about the boy I liked and how he became my boyfriend, etc. If any of you are wondering, we are still dating. :) I thought yesterday was my 1.5 year anniversary, but you know what? Even though June is the sixth month of the year, it's not six months after January. So after saying, "Happy 1.5 year anniversary!" to my boyfriend, he said, "Aren't you a month early?" We're a very silly couple. :)

But now for a serious note. I have a lot of ideas for this fic, and I've put a lot of time into it. Even though there may be gaps between chapters, I have every intent to finish this story, even if it takes me my whole life! (Hopefully it won't. That would just be crazy, haha.) So, please keep checking back. I hope everyone stays with this fic and continues to enjoy it.

Please review! I love reviews! :) Even if they're to tell me to get my butt in gear and put out a new chapter… x.x


	18. Snake in the Grass

Hello, everyone! Welcome to another installment of _Insomniac's Dream_!

Soooo much love to my reviewers! So much love! I'm glad so many of you stuck with me, and I'm glad even more of you are coming along for the ride! Special thanks to Dawning-insomnia (I feel like I cheated in publishing. I self-published, so they published my book no matter what…but I didn't have time to go through traditional publishing.), I Houseki And I The Shiz, josseline9090, DreamsReality, kai, Sasaime, Kichou Ketatsuki, Rizember (hi :) ), CrazedHumor (I'll try my best not to take a year between chapters ever again… x.x), and Lil-lo!

_Chapter 18: Snake in the Grass_

Gaara stared up at the ceiling in the darkness of the room. He turned his head slightly and looked at Kimimaro on the other side of the bed. The white-haired boy was curled up under the blankets, body rising and falling softly while he slept. Gaara closed his eyes, and the next thing he knew, the sun was shining in through the window and Kimimaro was scuttling about the kitchen making breakfast.

Yawning and stretching, Gaara made his way to the bathroom. As he splashed water on his face, he realized he felt completely rested. Surprised, he calculated about how many hours he must have slept.

"I got eight hours of sleep…?"

He sat at the bar separating the small kitchen and the living room watching Kimimaro scramble eggs. Not having been invited to too many sleepovers outside of Naruto's house, it felt weird waking up in someone else's bed and watching them cook breakfast for you. But it was also…nice. A good change of pace.

"How did you sleep?" Kimimaro asked once he noticed Gaara standing behind him. "Also, I'm making eggs and toast. Is there anything else you want?"

Gaara shook his head. "No, that sounds great. Thanks. And I had…a really nice sleep."

Kimimaro grabbed two plates from the cupboard and began dividing up the breakfast. "That's good to hear. When you said you had insomnia, I wasn't so sure. I know it always takes me forever to fall asleep in a new place. Do you want milk or orange juice?"

"Juice, please."

They ate in silence. Kimimaro wondered if and when he should confess his feelings for Gaara, and Gaara wondered when the last time he had fallen asleep for more than a few hours without Naruto by his side. After the dishes were cleaned, they walked to the bus station for the commute to work.

After working all morning, Kimimaro had finally gathered up enough courage. Turning to Gaara, he asked, "Do you have anyone you like?"

Not sure what to make of this question, Gaara answered honestly. "Yeah, I do. But he has a boyfriend right now."

"…Sasuke?"

Gaara blanched. Had he been that obvious? Had he really left any clues?

_Had Naruto noticed?_

The bus pulled up to the stop, and Gaara was spared a moment to think as he slid his quarters into the slot. (A/N: I couldn't find the name for that little machine that takes your money on a public bus. Is there a name for it? If not, there should be.) Should he tell the truth? It seemed Kimimaro had already figured it out. Why did he want to know, anyway? Had Naruto set him up? But how could Naruto have done that if they only talked at work… He felt his head began to spin, and he quickly sat down.

He turned his seafoam green eyes toward Kimimaro and said simply, "Don't tell Naruto."

Kimimaro felt his heart deflate. He had his answer; he wouldn't bring up the matter again.

They rode in silence for the ten minutes it took for the bus to get to downtown Konoha. Both having a key to Konoha Bookstore, there was a moment of awkwardness as they both tried to unlock the shop at the same time, but Kimimaro relented and Gaara unlocked the shop. Turning the lights on, they were greeted by rows upon rows of similar, squat, brown bookshelves completely stuffed with books. The ancient register loomed off to the right, Iruka loving the antique aura it gave off yet not being in the shop often enough to hate it and upgrade it.

"I'll go make coffee," Kimimaro mumbled, slipping behind the door labeled "Employees only. All others, beware!" He chuckled, remembering the day Naruto had finally gotten sick of customers sneaking into the backroom in search of a bathroom. Surprisingly, the "beware" did the trick, and very few customers ventured beyond the door.

Gaara placed himself behind the register and rested his head on his hands. Generally, they didn't get any customers until afternoon. The silence of the shop offered tranquility, and Gaara was glad there weren't any customers at the moment.

The small bell rang as the door opened, and Gaara groaned, realizing he had spoken too soon. When he looked to see who had dared to break his moment of silence, his teeth locked together and his brow furrowed. "What the fuck do you want?" he spat.

Had Gaara been able to see Itachi's sick grin hidden behind his trademark coat, he probably wouldn't have been able to resist punching him. "Now, now. Is that any way to treat a customer?"

"You're not a customer until you buy something," Gaara argued.

"Ah. Unfortunately, I'm not here to purchase anything. I'm here to offer my services." His red eyes narrowed. "I hear you do book signings. With the publicity hype of _Insomniac's Dream_, my publisher has released a novelization, and he strongly suggests I do these signings."

Gritting his teeth against the agony of Itachi being at his workplace doing a book signing, he pulled up the necessary files on the computer and printed them off. "You'll need to sign here and here… Know that Kyuubi Bookstore cannot be held not responsible for lost or stolen items. Also, please inform us at least 48 hours in advance before a booking and/or cancellation. And sign here and here…and here."

Itachi took his time to peruse the contract, and Gaara fidgeted anxiously behind the counter. Why was Kimimaro taking so long with the coffee?

Slowly, Itachi's eyes moved from the pages in front of him and upward until they met Gaara's. "You know… I would strongly advise against liking my brother. He has a boyfriend, you know."

_Jesus fucking Christ! First Kimimaro, now Itachi? _Gaara was beyond irked. "Who I like and don't like has nothing to do with you," he snarled.

"It does when it involves my little brother!" he retaliated. Taking a moment to regain his composure, he said more calmly, "I won't tell him. I don't think neither he nor Naruto have noticed. You hide your feelings well, but you gave yourself away at dinner last night. Plus, I don't think either of them have anything to worry about from your end. You seem like the kind of guy who would suffer in silence while the one he loves is fucking another man."

"And you seem like the kind of guy who would kill whoever's fucking the guy you wanna fuck." Gaara hadn't realized so much rage had built up within him until he noticed his fists were shaking. It took several deep breaths before he was back to his normal, stoic composure.

The bell above the shop door rang, and Itachi appeared breathless beside the counter. "Uchiha-san, I apologize for being late. I lost track of time."

Itachi turned his gaze to the smaller man with a large gash across his face. "It's perfectly all right. This nice gentleman helped me with the paperwork." He slid the papers toward Iruka, who checked to make sure they were properly filled out before signing his name at the bottom.

"Thank you for your business, Uchiha-san!"

Itachi's hand was on the door when he turned around. "I was planning on splitting them up anyway. When it happens, you should take your chance."

Gaara stared, stunned, as Itachi's cloak whipped around the corner and he was gone.

"What was that all about?" Iruka asked.

Gaara's eyes hit the floor, a shadow cast over his face. "I'm sorry, Iruka-san, but I'm taking the day off." He left the store without another word.

Kimimaro opened the door to the staffroom, a cup of coffee in either hand. "Gaara, I—" He looked around the store, unable to find Gaara but Iruka in his stead. "Where's Gaara?"

Iruka shrugged. "He just left. Can I have his coffee?"

.

When Naruto heard that Itachi was coming to Kyuubi Bookstore for a signing, he next heard that it was part of an eight-week nationwide signing tour. Thinking for a moment that that meant he and Sasuke could hang out whenever they wanted without fear of Itachi hovering over them, he was devastated to learn that Sasuke was going with him, for the signing involved both the writer and the actor.

"I'm really sorry, Naruto," Sasuke whispered, placing tender kisses across Naruto's face. "I wish it weren't so long, and I wish I could get out of it."

Naruto counted the weeks on his calendar and groaned. "I start school the day after you get back!"

Sasuke chewed on his bottom lip. "I'm sorry I couldn't spend more of the summer with you… But I'll call you every day, and we can see each other all the time when I get back!"

"But I'll have school, homework, and work…"

"…And there's still a lot more filming to do for _The Seven Suns_."

Unable to take much more, Naruto launched himself forward and latched his lips onto Sasuke's. "I don't want to let you go," he murmured, "but since I have to, I want to make our last days together memorable." He kissed across Sasuke's jaw, and his hands snaked up Sasuke's shirt, rubbing the skin they found.

"Na—Naruto!" Sasuke gasped, taken aback by the blond's sudden ferocity. He snaked his own hands below Naruto's shirt before pulling it above his head. He leaned forward and placed open mouthed kisses across any part of the torso he could find.

Naruto moaned and thrust his hips into Sasuke's. "I could barely take it when we were separated for two weeks. I don't know if I'm going to make it this time…" Their lips locked together, and two sets of clumsy hands grappled at the fabric still separating their naked bodies.

When their clothes were shed, Naruto pulled Sasuke onto his bed. "I—I can't… I'm so close already." His breath was heavy, his cheeks red, his brain having a hard time putting words together. "I don't think I'd be able to last through foreplay…"

Sasuke smirked and bucked his hips upward. "I don't mind. Just get inside me."

With a feral growl, Naruto shoved his tongue into Sasuke's mouth before thrusting inside the brunette. Sasuke's eyes widened, always thinking of Naruto as a gentle lover and completely taken aback by this new fierceness. The blond seemed to have an aura around him, and if Sasuke had to put a shape and color to it, it would be an orange fox. He relaxed, choosing to enjoy the wild Naruto, who was thrusting in and out at a maddening pace.

Before Sasuke knew it, he was already on the edge. He hardly noticed the moans tearing out of his throat as he clawed at Naruto, trying to press their bodies closer together and trying his best to match Naruto's fast paced thrusts. His seed squirt between them; Naruto thrust several more times before reaching his own completion, collapsing on top of his lover. They lay together wrapped so tightly in the other's arms that it seemed nothing could separate them.

.

When Sasuke left, Naruto had an ominous feeling in the pit of his stomach. If he could have foreseen the events to come, Naruto may have even opted to go with them even if it meant he wouldn't make his rent payments on time. Hinata, Kiba, Shino, and Shikamaru went with Naruto to the airport to send off Sasuke. Afterwards, the four literally had to drag Naruto away from the windows.

Sasuke waved from the airplane. Itachi watched him from where he sat, his face expressionless. When they were up in the air, Itachi spoke.

"We'll be meeting an old friend when we get to Sunagakure."

Sasuke knew he wouldn't get anymore out of Itachi, so he simply set his headphones back over his ears and tried to fall asleep.

Tears streaming down his face, Hinata held Naruto in her arms until they reached his apartment. The four helped him into the elevator and into his apartment. When Naruto spied Sasuke's apartment door, he went completely numb, and the four spread him out on the couch Sora glanced curiously at the small group before curling up in a patch of sunlight and falling asleep.

"What should we do?" Kiba asked worriedly. "We can't just leave him here. I don't think he'll eat…"

"We'll take shifts," Hinata suggested. "Two of us at a time will watch him for several hours a day, all day, every day."

"Tch, how troublesome," Shikamaru murmured, but he, too, was looking worriedly at his motionless friend. "I'll take the first shift. I can stay until ten, but then I'll need to go home."

"It must be really hard on him," Shino mentioned. "First to lose Haku and Zabuza, and now Sasuke's traveling the world."

"Thank God for technology," said Kiba. "I think he'd be even worse than this if he couldn't at least call Sasuke." He took a deep breath. "I'll stay here with Shikamaru. Shino, Hinata, you two go home for now and create some sort of signup sheet."

Tears pricked Hinata's lavender eyes. "It's going to be a long eight weeks, but I can't even imagine how long they'll feel for Naruto…"

.

When the plane landed in Sunagakure, Sasuke immediately knew something was wrong. Itachi had his coat unzipped, and he was smiling. Not an evil grin, not a sick sneer, but an actual _smile_. He was extremely satisfied about _something_…

When Sasuke saw him—that silver hair, those stupid glasses, and that fake smile—he was torn between running away, yelling, and punching Itachi. "Why is _he_ here?" he snarled.

Kabuto waved. "It's great to see you again, Sasuke! It's been such a long time! Why, it seems only yesterday we were dating…"

"It's been eight months since I broke it off with you." Sasuke's eyes were narrowed, and they began to take on his brother's characteristic red hue. "What the _fuck _are you doing here?"

Kabuto laughed. "Itachi, you old dog! I can't believe you didn't tell him! Sasuke, I'll be Itachi's personal assistant for this trip! I'll be following you two everywhere, booking your hotels, setting up your book signings… Yup, you'll be seeing a lot of me over the next eight weeks."

Furious, Sasuke whipped around, fist aimed for Itachi's face. The elder Uchiha stopped the full speed swing with his hand, eyes narrowing for a moment. "Careful, little brother. Remember who you're dealing with."

When Sasuke spit onto Itachi's face, a blanket of silence fell over the entire airport. Itachi's eyes narrowed, and was it Sasuke's imagination, or did a black pinwheel shape appear against Itachi's blood red eyes? Fear stricken, Sasuke tried to take a step backward, but even if Itachi hadn't grabbed onto him, he would have been immobilized.

Itachi leaned down until his lips were touching Sasuke's ears. He whispered, "Little brother… I warned you. You were never so rebellious until you met that Uzumaki brat. Now I _will _finish the job and erase him. You sealed your own fate."

Sasuke's eyes opened, not remembering having closed them, and he found himself in a hotel room. Had he blacked out? Where were Itachi and Kabuto?

Sasuke cringed at the memory of that bespectacled man with gray hair. He had broken up with Kabuto right before they had moved to Konoha. No… They had moved to Konoha _because _he had broken up with Kabuto…

Though Itachi time and again carelessly made decisions for Sasuke without listening to what the younger brother wanted, when it came to matters of Orochimaru, Itachi picked up his role of older brother without hesitation and did everything he could to protect his little brother. Ever since Sasuke had lost his virginity to Orochimaru, Itachi wouldn't even speak the snake's name, and Sasuke suspected that there was a restraining order in place.

When Sasuke first met Kabuto, he had never expected a relationship out of the deal. They met at a promotional deal during the filming of _Insomniac's Dream_, and at first, Sasuke hadn't even noticed him. Kabuto approached him, stated why he was there, and the two snuck back to Sasuke's hotel room to grant Kabuto's wish. They dated for nearly six months before Itachi received the frantic call from Kisame.

"_Itachi!" Kisame huffed into the phone. "Kabuto—Kabuto is working directly for Orochimaru! Not for Akatsuki, but as a personal assistant of sorts. Itachi, you've got to get Sasuke away from him! Tonight—Tonight, he's supposed to bring Sasuke back to Orochimaru…"_

That night, Itachi ordered Sasuke to break it off with Kabuto and to pack everything up. They were moving. Sasuke broke up with Kabuto, who seemed to take it pretty well, and thought that he would never see him again.

Itachi was in his own hotel room also thinking of that night not too long ago when they moved from Otogakure to Konohagakure and to the small town of Konoha. Needing a place as quickly as possible, Itachi was mortified to learn that the only available two-bed-two-bath apartment in the entire town was only as large as his closet back in Otogakure.

"I've lived in places larger than this entire complex," he griped.

But Tsunade was not a landlady to be taken lightly. She slammed her fist down on the desk. "If my residence doesn't suit your taste," she roared, fire blazing in her brown eyes, "look somewhere else!"

Not used to landlords turning out potential buyers, he was amazed to notice his hand scrawling out his signature on the lease. He would need to be careful of this Tsunade… He chuckled darkly as he thought about what she would do to residents with late rent. Then, remembering that he might be one of those residents eventually, his laugh stopped cold.

The important thing was that he got his little brother away from Orochimaru. With the Kabuto incident, he felt like he had failed his little brother. He had let his guard down, and that snake had almost swallowed the last Uchiha known to him.

Too soon, too soon, that blond fox had slipped under his radar and taken Sasuke away from him again. Blondie didn't look like he could win a fight against a twelve-year-old girl. How did he expect to protect Sasuke? This—_Uzumaki _needed to vanish.

The article in _Hiroto's Progress_—the magazine Sasuke had posed for—didn't seem to work. Itachi had taken great care writing that article. He made sure to convey every bit of hatred he felt for the blond into that article. He wouldn't be able to protect Sasuke, and Orochimaru would swallow him up. Then that wretched Hyuuga set up that interview on Chakra Television's news program. Everyone was trying to set little Sasuke against him, but he only wanted to protect him!

Naruto needed to vanish, and his plan was already set into motion. The fact that the little red-haired kid—Gaara—had a crush on Sasuke was an added bonus. Itachi cackled, remembering when he first noticed the glances Gaara was giving Sasuke. Oh, if only Naruto weren't so fucking stupid, he would notice! But Kabuto was essential in the plan. Itachi had made a mistake once. Now he would set the whole thing up again and wouldn't make a mistake this time.

Not this time.

He passed the large mirror above the dresser and paused. His face was blank to a passerby, but Itachi could see his turmoil in his eyes. Raising his fist up, he smashed the mirror into a thousand pieces before helping himself to an already half-empty bottle of scotch on his dresser.

.

Naruto had spent the entire afternoon halfheartedly trying to convince Shikamaru and Kiba that he didn't need a babysitter. He refused to move from where he lay on the couch and very reluctantly ate a few saltines. When his phone rang, he leapt to his feet, brimming with energy. "Sasuke?" he roared excitedly.

Sasuke held the phone away from his ear as Naruto shouted his name several more times, but he was unable to wipe the smile from his face. "Hey, Naruto. My plane landed…a few hours ago, I think. I don't know. I had a fight with Itachi, and I blacked out. I'm sorry if I made you worry…"

"I'm glad you're safe."

There was a pause, and Sasuke wondered how much he should tell Naruto about Kabuto. "Ah, Naruto… There is something I need to talk to you about. When my plane landed, it turns out…it turns out my ex-boyfriend is Itachi's personal assistant and will be traveling with us for the next eight weeks."

Naruto's heart sunk. If he had felt any jealousy about the multiple one-night stands he learned about less than a week ago—about men Sasuke would probably never meet again—it had nothing on the waves and waves of poisonous jealousy suddenly coursing through his veins. "O—Oh?" He pretended his voice wasn't shaking. "I see… H—How long were you two…together?"

"Six months…before Itachi made me break it off with him." Sasuke blinked. Why did he phrase it like that? After learning that Kabuto was willing to sell Sasuke back to Orochimaru, he was all too eager to dump Kabuto and race away to Konoha. Why was he phrasing it like he was forced…? "Ah, I mean, I wanted to break up with him."

Well, fuck, that just made it sound worse. Great going, Sasuke.

The door to Sasuke's hotel room open, and his eyes snapped to the gray-haired figure waltzing into the room. He covered his cell phone speaker and yelled, "Kabuto! What are you doing here? Get out! This is my room!"

Kabuto smirked and pushed his glasses further up onto his nose. The light reflected off his glasses, and for a moment, Sasuke couldn't see Kabuto's cold, black eyes. "But Sasuke-kun, didn't you hear? We're rooming together! You didn't think you needed _two _queen-sized beds all to yourself, did you?"

"We are _not _rooming together," he hissed. He uncovered the speaker and said, "Naruto, I need to call you back." Eager to rid his room of anything Kabuto, Sasuke hung up the phone without even waiting for Naruto to say good bye.

Naruto stared at his cell phone, unable to believe what had just happened. His blue eyes moved from Shikamaru to Kiba. He heard a small _mew _at his feet, and he picked up Sora, burying his nose in the kitten's gray fur. "What do I do, Sora? What do I do…?"

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One of my favorite video games is _Okami_. (I really like the PS2 version a lot better than the Wii version, but that's because my arm shakes too much on account of having very girly upper body strength.) For those of you who don't know, the bad guy in the story is this large monster with eight snake heads named Orochi. I'm forever mixing up Orochi and Orochimaru. (I still haven't beaten the game, though. In video games, I'm continuously thwarted by the mini-games. In _Okami_, there are several mini-games involving digging to the bottom of a…cave…thing…and there are many puzzles along the way, which are all easy cakes. The troubling part is this slow ass chick is following you around, and whenever there are spikes, she runs into them. Ughhhh…)

On a whim, I Google'd "Insomniac's Dream," just to see what would happen. Apparently it's an EP released by Adema in 2002. So I guess I should say now that my story is in no related to Adema and that the matching titles are purely coincidental.

Thanks for reading! Please review!


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